Boo k 

COROUGHT DEPOSffi 



4- 

The Flag of Holland, 



THE PLAN BOOK SERIES 



A LITTLE JOURNEY 

TO 

HOLLAND 

FOR HOME AND SCHOOL, INTERMEDIATE 
AND UPPER GRADES 



BY / 

IDA M. DEAN 

AND 

MARIAN M. GEORGE 



CHICAGO 
A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 



THE LIBRARY OF 

CONGRESS, 
Two Copies Received 

MAY. 19 1902- 

Copyright entry 
CLASS O-XXc. No. 

3d 370 

copy b. 



Copyright, 1902 
By A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 




A Little Journey to 
Holland. 



' 'What land is this -that seems to be 
A mingling of tKeJarid and sea? 
This land of .sluices, dykes and dunes? 
This water-net, that tessellates 
The landscape? this unend ng maze 
Of gardens, through whose latticed gates 
The imprisoned pinks and tulips gaze, 
"Where in long summer afternoons 
The sunshine, softened by the haze, 
Comes streaming down as through a screen. 
****** 

"And overall and everywhere 

The sails of windmills sink and soar 

Like wings of sea gulls on the shore?" 

Rerarrios. 

Would you like now to visit the bravest queerest 
little country that our big sun looks down upon ? 
Then find your umbrellas and rubbers, for this new 
country is a boggy, foggy land, where it often rains 
and one's feet are always damp. 

The climate is moist, changeable and disagreeable. 
It is pleasantest to visit this tiny kingdom in the 
winter or summer. 

During the autumn and spring, a great part of the 
country looks like a large lake, dotted over with little 
patches of marshy land. So low is this odd country 
that it is called Holland from the words hollow and 
land. 

Another name given to it is the Netherlands. The 
word nether means low. (Place your finger on your 



^ A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 

nether lip.) When we join the word nether to land 
we get Netherlands, and this one word describes Hol- 
land as the lowest country of all Europe. For much 
of Holland is below the level of the sea. 



WILHELMINA, QUEEN OF HOLLAND. 

Perhaps you have read, how, in the olden days, men 
had to conquer savages and wild beasts before they 
could build homes in new countries; and how, in 



A LITTLE JOUENEY TO HOLLAND. 



5 



some places, it was necessary to build great strong 
walls about a city or a country to protect it from the 
enemy. 

But the plucky people of Holland have fought not 
only man, but the sea, for the right to the country 
they call theirs. Indeed, we may say, that much of 
the land was stolen from the sea. Where some of the 
finest meadows are to-day the sea once tossed her 
waves. How was the sea thus conquered, do you 
ask? Simply by watching for the opportunity to 
seize it, bit by bit. 

At low tide, when the sea was off guard, men would 
place a row of stones as far out from the shore as they 
could, then another row would be added, and so they 
continued until a great wall was reared, over which 
the sea could not climb. The wall is called a dyke. 

The land taken from the sea, and thus enclosed by 
a dyke, is called a polder. In this way, many very val- 
uable pieces of land have been added to the country. 

The soil of the polder is very fertile and when culti- 
vated, produces a most luxuriant yield. 

THE DYKES OF HOLLAND. 

The dykes of Holland are really wonderful. 
They not only stretch along the sea coast for miles and 
miles, but into the interior of the country to keep 
rivers and lakes from spreading over the land. 

The great dykes are built of compact earth and clay, 
faced with stone and cement. Huge stone buttresses, 
built of granite brought from Norway, project away 
out into the sea, and give additional strength. Where 
the strain is greatest, the dykes are further protected 
by heavy timbers and plankings of oak. 



6 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



The dykes are not only high but wide. So broad 
are they that on the top there is a level surface with a 
fine driveway, lined with beautiful trees, fine buildings 
and the ever-useful windmill. 

It is very interesting to watch from one side of the 
dyke the vessels floating by. Frequently the keel of 
the boat is on a level with the roadway, while masts 




THE COAST OF HOLLAND. 

and sails rise above one. Then by walking to the op- 
posite side of the dyke one can look down upon mead- 
ows, dotted with many black and white cattle grazing; 
or, perhaps, a happy group of bare-footed children 
sailing bits of wood, making believe that they are ves- 
sels going to the United States. Again we look down 
upon the roofs of houses. What a temptation to a 
mischievous boy or girl to let something drop down the 
chimney! Not a pebble though, for Holland has no 
stones except those brought from other countries. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



7 



To the Hollander, every wave of the sea, as it beats 
itself against the dyke, seems to roar, " The land is 
mine, mine, mine And every receding wave moans, 
"I want it back, want it, want it back!" 

Well does the Hollander realize that if he is at all 
neglectful, the sea will win its own again. So continu- 
ally is the sea gnawing and eating its way through 
stone and cement, that it is necessary, in dangerous 
places, to keep sentinels on duty night and day. 
These men watch the dykes for the tiniest leak, for so 
strong and mighty is the sea, that if it but gets the 
chance to force itself through the tiniest hole, it takes 
but a short time to change it to a large one. 

The greatest time of danger is in the spring of the 
year, when the ice is breaking up ; then there is always 
the fear that the great blocks of ice, floating slowly 
down the rivers and lakes, to join the ocean, will be- 
come jammed, and cause the waters to swell and over- 
flow. 

In times of danger, an alarm bell is rung. Then 
everyone within hearing distance rushes to the rescue, 
ready to work with might and main. One of the com- 
monest modes of defence is placing against the em- 
bankments huge mats made of straw. 

Does it not seem strange that so frail a thing as 
straw can defeat the savage sea? 

Whenever a terrible storm rages, the first thought 
is whether the dykes will hold! The Hollander shud- 
ders as he thinks of the terrible losses his little country 
has met with, from King Sea. Every wave is a fierce 
i soldier, who hesitates not to storm the strongest wall 
( reared by earthly hands. From the past,before so much 

i 



8 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



care was taken to guard and protect the dykes, he 
knows how flood after flood swept the land, turning it 
into a boiling, roaring sea, devouring cities, under- 
mining houses and filling the water with the helpless 
bodies of thousands of men, women and children, forc- 
ing even the grave yards to give up their dead, en- 
tangling cattle, horses and masts of ships in the tree 
tops, washing villages and towns completely away. 
Every child in Holland, as soon as he can understand 
anything, is taught the meaning of those five simple 
but awful words, U A Leak in the Dyke" 

And children in every part of this little country,are 
fond of hearing of the little boy, who by his bravery 
saved his country from a great loss. 

THE LEAK IN THE DYKE. 

Many years ago there lived in Holland a little boy 
named Peter. His home was near the sea, and his 
father watched the gates in the dykes and opened and 
closed them for the ships to pass from the canals to 
the sea. 

One afternoon his mother sent him on an errand out 
in the country on the other side of the dyke. On his 
return he noticed water forcing its way through a small 
hole in the dyke. 

Little as the boy was he realized at once the danger 
that threatened the land. If the hole was not stopped 
at once it would soon become a very large one and the 
country would be flooded. 

There was but one thing that he could do, and that 
was to keep the water back with his own hand. So he 
sat down by the wall and thrust his hand into the 
hole. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



9 



Then he called for help, again and again, but no one 
came to his aid Darker and darker, colder and colder 
grew the night. He shivered not only from the cold 
but from fear. His little hand began to ache, the pain 

crept up his 

arm, soon h i s 
whole body be- 
came numb. 

All that long, 
long night this 
brave little fel- 
low, who dread- 
ed to walk 
through the 
woods after 
dark, held the 
sea back with 
his little hand. 
Not till daylight 
did help come. 
Then they found 
him true to his 
post, sick, faint, 
too weak to 
stand or utter a 
sound. Strong 
hands cared for 
the dyke, while little Peter was tenderly carried 
home. As they neared his house a glad shout went 
up. 

"Give thanks, for your son has saved our land 
And God has saved his life!" 




A HOLIDAY 



10 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



Holland has many heroes, but none greater or more 
loved than little eight year old Peter. 

HOW TO GO. 

Are you ready now, for a long tour through this 
interesting land of dykes? 

If so, look at your map of the United States and 
select the best route that will take you to Hoboken, a 
town in New Jersey, just opposite New York City. 
Make your way to the pier of the Holland-American 

line and take 

passage on the 
first steamer 
that sails, as all 
these vessels go 
direct to Hol- 
land. The 
steamers of this 
line are named 
after a city or 
river of Holland 
and all end in 
dam. Pronounce 
this syllable as 
though the spell- 
ingwaso instead 
of a. 

One vessel is 
named Amster- 
dam, another 
Rotterdam, an- 
other Maasdam, 

OUT FOR A STROLL. 




A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



11 



Statendam, Spaarndam, and yet another Pots- 
dam. 

The word dam added to the name of a river, at once 
tells us of a city that owes its origin or foundation to 
the dam built in the river. 

As we approach Holland we see that it is literally a 
hollow land. This little country, not much larger than 
our Maryland, resembles a great sponge, sometimes 
dry but more frequently saturated with water. 

So wet, soft and marshy are the fields that even the 
horses wear a wide piece of wood attached to each hoof 
to keep them from sinking in the mud. 

So marshy is the earth that even the houses stand on 
stilts. Before building, great care must be taken to 
sink long, wooden piles away down deep, very deep, 
into the earth. 

Fields are separated by ditches and ponds. Water 
is plentiful, but land is scarce, so that it receives the 
utmost care, Holland has no stones. Many a Dutch 
boy has never seen a pebble or small stone. No stone 
or wooden fences in this odd country; instead we find 
green growing hedges, and ditches, often as green as 
the living hedges, inclosing garden plots. 

Not only is Holland low but it is very level. From 
the top of a tower 338 feet high in Utrecht, a city near 
the center of the country, you can see the whole of 
Holland spread out all about you like a brightly col- 
ored picture on a canvas. Everything in this flat 
country is sharply and clearly defined. A man or a 
duck stands out in as bold a relief as a windmill. Ob- 
jcets seem much nearer than they really are. 

Holland has no mountains. The only elevations are 
the sand dunes and the dykes. 



12 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



Sand dunes are but heaps of sand, that for ages 
has been blowing, drifting and heaping itself into great 
ridges, ridges that continually change and shift with 
the winds. 

In a country so flat as Holland, the winds had a fine 
time driving the sands about until the Hollanders put 
a stop to it by planting coarse, reed-like grasses and 
other vegetation, whose roots would grow in one tan- 
gled mass, and wind in and out of the sand heaps, and 
so hold the sand in place. Even little children know 
that they must not pull a blade of this grass whose 
strong roots and fibers are so useful. But what sport 
the boys have hunting the rabbits, for these sand dunes 
are full of rabbit-burrows. 

In swampy, damp countries, vegetable matter decays 
and forms a black coal-like substance that burns easily. 
This is peat, and is used for fuel instead of wood or 
coal. Digging and cutting this black earth, which is 
but a mass of decayed roots and grasses, is a regular 
business in Holland. 

Among the poor people, even the little children are 
sent out to cut the peat in brick-shaped sods. 
These sods are carefully dried and stowed away for 
use in the winter, when ice and snow make it impossi- 
ble to cut it. 

As all but the very rich use peat, men go through 
the streets from house to house selling this fuel. 

AMSTERDAM. 

As w r e sail up the great North Sea Canal and enter 
Holland at Amsterdam, the metropolis of the country, 
we notice that this city is shaped like a semi-cir- 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



13 



cle with the Dam as a center. From this Dam, built 
in 1204, at the junction of the Amstel river and the Y, 
the city gets its name. 




IN THE HARBOR OF AMSTERDAM. 



Amsterdam is sometimes called the Venice of the 
Dutch. It is a walled city of 95 islands connected by 
about 350 bridges. 

At first sight of Amsterdam one stands speechless. 
It seems one forest of windmills, windmills every- 
where and perched like great birds upon every avail- 
able tower or steeple or pyramid, every spire and every 



14 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



belfry, and in and among all these rise the endless 
numbers of factory chimneys, together with the masts 
of vessels everywhere to be seen, loading and unload- 
ing, up and down the many water routes of the town. 
Half its streets are canals, filled with water that at 
times is as black as ink. 

In whatever direction we look we see sails and masts 
poking up between windmills, spires, steeples and 
trees, so that you wonder where land ends and the sea 
begins. '* 

Amsterdam is so low r , and the sSil is so soft and 
marshy, that before building, heavy piles must be 
sunk into the mud and slime. Arid as the piles do 
not always remain firm, many of-the houses have a 
very tipsy air as they lean at various angles — forward, 
backward, and sideways. Some of the streets are so 
narrow that people can shake ham dsvapros^ t^e. streets. 

The builders of Amsterdam receive more money for 
what they do under ground than above ground. It- 
costs many thousand florins a day to prevent the city 
from vanishing in the mud. The dredging machines 
are always at work clearing out the mud. 

Water is all around and about the city, and the 
windmills are everlastingly whirling to keep the farms 
about it from becoming lakes. But in spite of the fact 
that water is everywhere in sight, there is no drink- 
ing water in the place. It must come from the clouds 
or a reservoir fourteen miles away. 

Nowhere in Europe are the streets more beautiful 
than in Amsterdam. Some of the new streets are 
splendidly adorned with fine public buildings, and 
stately residences. The principal street are two mi' I 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



15 



long, and describe a semicircle. Canals run through 
the center of these streets, and on either side are roads 
lined with stately trees and handsome residences. 




IN AMSTERDAM. 



Many of the side streets are canals with no foot paths 
whatever. 



16 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



A stroll about the streets of Amsterdam delights us, 
for we see so many odd sights. Tourists from all parts 
of the world, sooner or later visit this city. Here min- 
gle together the American, the European, the Oriental, 
sailors from every part of the globe. Most interesting 
of all are the Hollanders from the provinces, arrayed 
in the quaint national costume of their own section. 
One of the oddest sights is to see the fishermen with 
great fur caps on in summer. These are worn all the 
year as a badge of their business. 

And such queer conveyances—the modern carriage, 
carts pulled by dogs, and even sleighs, dragged over 
the ground in summer, but helped along by the driver, 
who squeezes an oil-rag in front of the runners. 

Vessels of all sorts and kinds, steamboats, yachts, 
sailboats, and canal boats ready to take you anywhere. 
Bridges are everywhere. Frequently the boats are so 
tall that they cannot pass under the bridge, which 
must be raised. When one is in a hurry, how exasper- 
ating to have to pause until the bridge is closed. While 
we wait the slow movements of the bridge tender, we 
are interested in seeing him swing out over the boat a 
long pole on the end of which is a wooden shoe; into 
this some one on the vessel must drop a coin or two to 
pay for the opening and closing of the bridge. 

It is very pleasant traveling about the city m boats 
~in this way. It is not so tiresome as walking, and, with- 
out leaving our seats, we can watch the passing of the 
curiously dressed people, with their noisy, clumsy 
shoes the lounging sailor with his pipe always m his 
mouth, the busy house wife, dressed in spotless white, 
with scrub brush or pail or knitting in hand, at the 
door or window. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



17 



Standing on the docks we can see the vessels com- 
ing and going constantly. Many of them are from 
the Dutch East Indies, and carry vast quantities of 
coffee, sugar, tobacco, and spices. 

Amsterdam began its career as a little fishing vil- 
lage. To-day it has a population of 512,953 and 




THE ROYAL PALACE. 



accommodates ten thousand vessels, fTying the flags of 
all nations. 

In Holland everyone moves slowly. We miss the 
American activity and bustle of our northern states. 

Amsterdam has many very interesting buildings. 
The great Exchange is worth a visit. Here the merch- 
ants and brokers come daily to transact business. 
>Once a year. Ib.e last week in August, all the grave 
[(Solemnity i h i ttends money transactions is laid aside, 



18 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



and this building is turned into a play ground and be- 
comes the center of the children's carnival. 

This celebration is to honor the children, who dur- 
ing the 17th century discovered a Spanish plot to blow 
up the city. The children gave the alarm and the 
city was saved. 

Another interesting building is known as the Royal 
Palace. Its foundations are laid on 13,659 piles. Al- 
though called a palace it is really a town hall, for 
which it is better adapted than for the home of a 
king. The court meets here but once or twice a year. 
The rulers of Holland are crowned in Amsterdam. 

Amsterdam is a great business center. Throughout 
the civilized world, the city is famed for its diamond 
cutting. This branch of work gives employment to 
ten thousand people. 

The diamonds are brought from South Africa. 
Some of the largest stones take months to cut. A 
perfect diamond should have sixty-four sides. Rough 
diamonds to the value of several million dollars are cut 
here every year. The men who do this work are very 
honest, and a diamond is never stolen. 

Holland is also famous for its manufacture of toys.) 
All sorts of mechanical toys, windmills that go, tiny 
fishinp- ^ us, canal-boats, animals that walk and make 
all sorts of unearthly sounds. 

This city might well be called the city of Chimes. 
All the bells of Amsterdam are in tune, and they 
chime every quarter of an hour. The chimes of the 
old cathedral play a different air every quarter of 
an hour, so that in a single day ninety-six airs 
are played. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



19 



The most magnificent building in Amsterdam is the 
great Rijk's Museum. This is considered one of the 
finest buildings in Northern Europe. Here we find 
many curios from different countries. 

The picture galleries draw people from all parts of 
the world. The Dutch love their artists, and their 
works, and we see Dutch men, women and children, 




RIJK'S MUSEUM. 



| rich and poor, crowding into the galleries to enjoy the 
pictures they treasure. 

Rembrandt is considered as Holland's greatest artist 
and the entire civilized world acknowledges him as a 
Teat master. So proud are the people of Amsterdam 
»f Rembrandt, that they have raised a monument to 
erpetuate his memory. 



20 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



His most famous picture is called the "Night Patrol" 
or "Night Watch." Artists regard this as so wonderful 
that they return to study it day after day. If you 
ask them about the picture, they will tell you that the 
action, the light and shade and the portraits are 
wonderful. 

Another painting hanging in the Rijk's Museum that 
is thought by some to be even finer than the "Night 
Patrol/ 7 is "The Syndics of the Cloth Merchant." 

This picture is admired because the faces express so 
much feeling. They are perfect portraits, the men 
seeming to live, breathe and feel. 

Rembrandt was born in the city of Leyden, 1607, 
and died at Amsterdam, 1669. 

A picture that children enjoy is the "Feast of St. 
Nicholas," by Jean Steen. 

The "Dancing Lesson" and the "Night School," are 
also regarded as masterpieces of Dutch art. 

One of the most noted sights of Amsterdam is the 
zoological garden. It is considered the finest one of 
its kind in Europe. It covers twenty-eight acres, and 
attracts students and visitors from all over the world. 

The Tower of Tears is well worth a visit. This is 
the place where the Dutch sailors in ancient times 
took leave of their friends when embarking on long 
voyages. That tower has seen many farewells, for 
"Dutch pluck has sailed all over the world." Holland 
is next to England as a colonizing state. 

The cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam are noted 
for ship building. The Dutch ships are always we 1 ^ 
built, and good and sound. cjs 

A short distance from Amsterdam, is a little pla> rj 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



21 



called Yaandam. To this place, many years ago, came 
Peter the Great, the Czar of Russia. He had heard of 
the stout ships the Dutch built and he wished to copy 

them. So he dis- 
guised himself as 
a peasant and 
spent some time 
in a fisherman's 
hut by the wharf, 
learning as much 
as he could. He 
was anxious to m- 
prove the condi- 
tion of his people 
and wanted to in- 
troduce new me- 
thods in Russia, 
For a penny or 
two, a guide shows 
us Peter's hut. It 
has been carefully 
preserved and en- 
cased in a build- 
ing erected by a 
former queen of 
Holland. 

Did you ever 
hear of a street of 
windmills? Yaan- 
dam has one, almost five miles long. It stretches 
along the river Yaan, and numbers some four hundred 
mills. They are all busy too, grinding corn, chopping 




REMBRANDT STATUE AT AMSTERDAM 



22 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



tobacco, sawing timber, crushing seed for oil, and 
draining land. 

Near Amsterdam is a place called Deventer, known 
as the gingerbread town, because of a certain kind of 
gingerbread that is made there and sent all over the 




THE NIGHT PATROL. 



country. Many thousand pounds of this gingerbread 
are exported every year. 

Other trips may be taken from the city of Amster- 
dam to various localities near. It is very interesting 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



23 



to sail on the Zuyder Zee and visit the many islands, 
that float like lilies on its surface. 

Especially interesting the Island of Marken proves. 
So low is it, that the sea frequently washes its shores. 
It is necessary to set the houses upon mounds of earth. 
Many of the houses are two hundred years old. They 
are but one story high, gaily painted, and have roofs of 
bright red tiles. 

The interiors of the houses are very odd. The walls 
are of wood and are decorated with old plates of 
Delft, Chinese and Japanese ware of odd shapes, by 
racks containing pipes, or filled with massive old 
spoons. You will see no bedsteads, but in their 
place, beds made in the niches of the wall. To sleep' 
in one of these beds would be like going to rest on a 
shelf in a closet. Very gay are the quilts and pillows, 
sometimes richly embroidered. 

Floors are polished until they shine. Before enter- 
ing the house, the wooden shoes are left at the door. 
It seems very queer to see so many shoes waiting at 
the door for owners, while the people within are going 
about either in their stockings or barefooted. 

The isle of Marken has but a thousand inhabitants, 
strong, sturdy, self-reliant fisher-folk, dressed in the 
oddest of all costumes in Holland. 

THE PEOPLE OF HOLLAND. 

The people who live in Holland are called Dutch. 
They are noted for their bravery, pluck, industry, hon- 
esty, public spirit, and love of liberty and justice. 
They are quiet and sober, and never seem to be in a 
hurry. They have blue eyes, blonde hair, and fair 



24 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



faces. The majority of the people in the cities dress 
much as do the people of our own Eastern cities. Paris, 
Berlin and London furnish the cities of Holland with 
the latest styles. 

But away from the cities the people wear odd curi- 
ous costumes. 

The Dutch women are very industrious. Many of 
them do men's work. They act as market porters, 
railway signal men, boat men and they even help the 




dogs draw wagons 
about. It looks to 
travellers as if the 
women do most of 
the work, while the 
men smoke and steer 
canal boats. 

So much out of 
door work makes the 
women of Holland 
strong and healthy, 
and their cheeks are 
usually rosy and 
their eyes bright. 

The country peo- 
ple of Holland do 
not bother about any 
modern fashions. 
They prefer their 
own old, quaint 
styles of dressing. 

The little girl 



frames her rosy face 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



25 



in a white cap, finished off with a gold band over 
the forehead, and with golden ornaments at each side 
of the temples. Sometimes gold curls, that look like 
o-olden cork screws, dangle beside the sweet, serious 
face. 

Her dress is always simple and plain. Sometimes 
her bodice is finished off at the neck with a snowy 
white kerchief. The head dress of a child is not so 
large and showy as her mother's, which sometimes 
represents the wealth of the family. The head dresses 
vary in different sections of the country. Frequently 
they are of pure gold and worth hundreds of dollars. 
We would not consider them beautiful, but odd or 
curious. 

In some parts of Holland the women have their hair 
cut short and wear close fitting caps, surmounted by 
a sort of helmet, finished off by great gold rosettes and 
blinders. Others wear a gold or silver plate at the 
back, from which hang deep folds of rich, rare, beauti- 
ful and costly lace. 

The dress consists of a short dark skirt or perhaps 
several skirts, and a bright colored jacket, trimmed 
with silver buttons. 

But the boys and men are the oddest of all. Why, 
the material used in making one leg of the Dutchman's 
great baggy, velvet knickerbockers would make a little 
girl a skirt. Then the queer short jackets, trimmed 
with big silver buttons, the w T aist and knee buckles of 
silver, the wide crowned, brimless hat and wooden 
shoes; oh, and the pipe, we must not forget that, and you 
have the Dutchman dressed as he has for centuries. 

We find the people of both villages and cities wear- 



26 A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 

every step. Every Saturday these shoes must be 

seabed It Sh °t blackin ^ but waahed and 
scrubbed with soap and water, and scraped inside 
and outs.de until they shine for Sunday wear A 

shoes of all sizes, standing outside the door or on a 
bush to dry. The Dutch children play with their 
shoes as other children play with toys" Theysai, them 
n the canal for boats, tying strings to them so that 
hey can draw them in when they wish. Sometimes 
they use these shoes for beds for their dolls, or dishes 
and even for drinking vessels. 

One can tell a school house in Holland by the great 
number of shoes at the door. When the children re- 
turn home from school they take off their shoes and 
put on slippers. 

The wooden shoe is very useful on St. Nicholas eve. 
T hen the children do not hang up their stockings to be 
filled by Santa Claus, but instead place their wooden 
shoes by the fire place. 

Very careful are they to secure a good fat carrot or 
a bunch of hay to place in the shoe so that when St 
Nicho as comes, with his gifts for them, he will find 
something for his own good fiery steeds. In the 
morning, carrots and hay have disappeared and gifts 
have been left for -good children. 

Those who have been naughty during the year 
expect their gift to be a rod for parents to use on them 
the coming year. St. Nicholas is supposed to be as 
careful to punish the naughty, as he is to reward the 
good. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



27 



The sixth of December is celebrated as St. Nicholas' 
birthday. It is kept as we keep Christmas Day m our 
country. 




mm 



FEAST OF ST NICHOLAS. 



The Dutch claim that our idea of Santa Clans 

originally came from Holland, where he is called St. 

Nicholas. . 

Happy is the boy or girl whose shoe holds silver 



28 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



skates. Holland is truly a paradise for those who 
love to skate. Here the ice does not come and go as 
with us. When it once forms, it is for all winter. 
Each day gives it additional strength. The question 
"will it bear?" is not often heard. 

What fun the boys and girls have in racing with one 
another! They seem more like bright birds than boys 
and girls as they skim over the ice, and their skates 
are of all sorts and kinds, from the aristocratic silver, 
the serviceable polished steel, to the clumsy wooden 
ones, fastened on with a bit of stout twine. 

Everybody in Holland skates, from the little tod- 
dling child, that has just learned to walk, to the old, 
old grand parent, It is easier for a Hollander to 
skate than to walk. 

The canals are crowded with little boys and girls; 
big boys and girls, fat, happy, rosy-cheeked boys and 
girls, thin, sad, cross boys and girls on their way to 
school, or work in shop or factory. 

Men and women, fat, thin, old and young, all on 
skates. If we stand and watch the skaters we will be 
much amused, so odd do the people appear. Strange 
it seems to see a large pompous merchant, cane poised 
high in the air, on his way to his ware house; a peddler 
with a huge pack on his back making his way into a 
distant section; the school-master with an armful of 
books; the busy doctor, pondering on his patients; the 
market women loaded with their heavy baskets. Each 
and all glide by, only intent on business. 

But of all the motley crowd we are most curious 
about the peasant girl, who skates so rapidly that she 
seems to have wings on her feet. She is dressed in 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



29 



national costume, and across her shoulders is a wooden 
yoke from the ends of which hang pails filled with 
butter and cheese. 

The push chairs seem strange. They are easy chairs 
lined with soft cushions and mounted 'on runners. 

When a lady is 
seated, she 
wraps herself in 
fur rugs, places 
her feet upon 
the foot stove 
and away she 
goes, pushed by 
a servant dress- 
ed in livery 
with skates on 
his feet. No 
matter how cold 
the day, she is as 
warm and com- 
fortable, and en- 
joys her ride as 
much as though 
she was seated 
behind a span 
of horses. 

Another very 
interesting sight 
on these frozen highways are the ice boats. Every 
one must keep a sharp look out for these boats, and 
keep out of their way. These vessels glide over the 
ice like great white winged birds. They are only or- 




WINTER AMUSEMENT. 



30 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



dinary boats, mounted on runners, so broad at the 
base that they can carry much larger sails than ves- 
sels of the same size in water. 

These boats are used for every purpose. Gay parties 
of young folks, laughing and singing, bent on having 
a good time, while on their way to a neighboring town, 
shoot by; while, perhaps, just in its wake is another 
loaded with hay and vegetables; and still others carry 
merchandise for the factories. 

Here and there booths are erected on the ice, where 
hot coffee, milk, chocolate, cake and all sorts of good 
things are sold. 

Every family has a sleigh and the sleighs are made 
in the form of swans, shells or boats. But though 
winter is the gayest time in Holland, the children have 
almost as pleasant a time in the summer. Barefooted 
they wade and splash in the ponds and ditches; they 
sail little bits of i wood, that they make believe are huge 
steamers. Then the swimming matches ! How these 
Dutch boys and girls can dive ! What sport rowing 
and sailing the large boats ! And, too, the fishing. 
The waters of Holland are alive with fish. It needs 
but the keen skill of a Dutch boy to draw a prize from 
the water and land it in mother's frying pan, or in 
some neighbor's, in exchange for a cent or two. 

HOMES AND HOME LIFE. 

We find the houses of Holland odd looking. They 
are tall, and sometimes lean to the right or left, back- 
wards or forwards. This crooked state of affairs is 
due to the sinking of the piles on which the houses are 
built. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



31 



In the cities, the houses are frequently five and six 
stories high. The first three are the same width, very 
much broader than the upper ones, which grow nar- 
rower and narrower as they approach the peaked roof. 
Bright red tiles cover the roofs and they are further 
adorned with gilded weather vanes. The walls are 
also painted with some bright color. 

As soon as we set foot in Holland, we remember that 
it has the reputation of being the cleanest country in 
the world. And this we find to be true. In the vil- 
lages, where the 
houses are small, 
even the one- 
roomed huts are 
gaily painted and 
very clean. 

In the cities, 
with mop and 
scrubbing brush 
i n hand, each 
housekeeper o r 
her maid begins 
the day, arrayed 
in a short petti- 
coat and wooden 
shoes. Every 
morning the house 
receives a bath. Window panes are drenched with 
water, then polished until they shine like mirrors. 
Sidewalks and doorsteps are scrubbed. Water is used 
in so liberal a way, that early in the morning a stranger 
might easily think that the place was flooded. 




THE VEGETABLE MAN. 
Photographed by Mrs. J. H. Boyd 



32 A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 

In the front of the house, instead of at the back as 
with us, r beaten> and bedd . ^ack, „ 

There ,s need of great activity, for all this drenching 
scrubbing polishing must be over each morning by ,0 
o clock. If the law did not thus place a limit the Hoi 
landers would be at it all day. When a ifiS" 
is not knitting you are sure to find her scrubbing 
Ping, brushing or polishing either the inside o the 
outside of the house. Everything i sso clean and 
shines so, that a sunbeam seems to point wi hsLn j 
a stray speck of dust. COrn at 

As the street door is opened, you hesitate to cross 
the sill for the hall is so beautifully polished that it 
seems almost wicked to walk on it. When you see he 
children just home from school, slip their feet out o 
heir wooden shoes, before entering, you wish that you 
too, could enter m your stocking feet 

tereron^t'^T 11 ^^ 13 ^- White ^nd isscat- 
tered on the tile floor every morning. The kitchens 
have open fire places, and these J needed for the 
dampness eaves the floors cold. Sometimes cork foot 
stools are kept near the fireplace. 

Let us take a peep into a rich man's house. We find 
the floors made of tiles, laid in regular patterns, or else 
of polished wood, covered with rich and heavy rugs 

51 W tu S ar ?- hUDg With beauti ™> often odd tapes-' 
tries. The ceilings are richly frescoed. The furniture 
is heavy and durable, rather than frail and dainty fine 
paintings, exquisite statuary, sparkling cut glass mas- 
sive silverware, and many beautiful and wondeX 
curios from China and Japan, are all about 
In the chief rooms we see great fire places, sur- 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 33 



rounded by dark blue and white tiles upon which are 
painted biblical scenes. Here on Sunday afternoons 
children love to gather to hear the old, yet ever new, 




From a painting by Jean Steen. 

THE DANCING LESSON. 

stories of Moses and the Egyptians, of Joseph and his 
brothers, of Daniel and thelions. 



34 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



Upon the large mantels rest the brass candlesticks 
and the pipes, the pride and the joy of the master of 
the house. Here are pipes of all sorts and kinds from 
the plebian clay to the aristocratic meerschaum, 
mounted in silver and gold. Each pipe has a history. 
The master can tell you where he got it, how long he 
has had it, what he paid for it or who gave it to him. 
As he expatiates on its beautiful brown color now, he 
takes care to tell you how white it was, when he first 
got it. The browner the pipe the better, and more 
constant the smoker. Pipe and tobacco are always 
provided for a guest, also. 

The Dutchman as soon as he wakens in the morning 
gets his pipe. Indeed, it is said that he even goes to 
sleep with it in his mouth, so that if he wakens during 
the night, the pipe will be ready for use. 

The mother of the house is as fond of her foot stove 
as the master of his pipes. 

Foot stoves are much used in Holland. They are 
tin boxes, shaped somewhat like a small bench, with 
a handle and filled with hot coals. The air is so 
darnp and chilly, that foot stoves are used summer and 
winter in houses and churches. On Sunday, the sex- 
ton and his assistants, boys and old women, move 
softly about the church, and rent foot stoves to those 
who are willing to pay a penny. 

One thing that you will think queer about the fine . 
houses are the looking glasses fastened outside of the 
windows. These are so arranged that a person inside 
of a room, can, without being seen, know all that is 
going on in the street, and what visitor is using the 
huge brass knocker on the polished oaken door, 

. ' 1 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



35 



It makes us smile, when we see a Hollander in pass- 
ing the house of friends, pause, then very deliberately 
bow to the house, to the windows, with no person vis- 
ible in the house. This salute is intended as a mark of 
respect to all that the house contains. Do you not 
think it a pretty custom? 

Have you not, when on your way to school, passed 
a house from the door bell of which hung a large black 
bow of crepe, or of black or white ribbon? This tells 
you there is sorrow here! A soul has left never to 
return. 

Now in Holland, they tell not only their sorrow 
but their joy. When a Hollander passes a house and 
sees a cushion displayed upon the door, he knows at 
once that there is great rejoicing here, that a bran 
new soul has just arrived. 

If the baby is a boy then the cushion is red, if blue 
or white, then the new comer must be a girl. Fre- 
quently the cushions, made of lace and ribbon, are 
large and showy. When very poor, they simply dis- 
play a red or blue string. . 

Every Hollander, who has money to use for the lux- 
uries of life, builds out of town a little summer house. 
This is painted in the gayest of colors, with a motto 
over the door. 

These summer houses are very frail, only intended 
for summer pleasures. They are always near the canal, 
pond or ditch, which is often filled with water so stag- 
nant as to rival the green of the fields. Fantastic 
bridges are everywhere. The Dutch so love the water, 
that they are not happy unless near it, and they are in 
no way particular about the kind, so long as it is wet. 



36 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



To the summer house on warm afternoons, goes the 
owner with wife and children. Here, pipe in mouth, 
he smokes and dreams of his treasures. The good 
wife, with feet on the foot stove, even on the hottest 
day, knits away as though her life depended on finish- 
ing the long stocking before sunset. And the children, 
how they enjoy the day's outing! What a fine time 
they have fishing from the window, laughing, chatting 
with friends in passing boats, throwing crumbs to some 
old motherly duck or regal swan floating by, paddling 
barefooted or gathering the beautiful pond lilies! 

Then comes a feast of the sweetest cakes, with coffee 
and delicious cream and milk, and back they go to 
their city home to sleep. 

The Dutch breakfast is a very simple one — just tea, 
bread and butter. We will add fried herrings to ours. 
The Dutch eat their herrings rare. For luncheon there 
is delicious coffee, eggs, the sweetest butter in the world, 
and the cheese for which Holland is famed. Dinner 
is much like the same meal in any other country, 
and comes in the evening. 

In America we have a milkman, but in Holland it is 
very apt to be a milk boy or a milk girl. The milk is 
carried in gay little carts, drawn by two, four or five 
large dogs. Generally these dogs are well-behaved 
and obey the slightest word or gesture. They trot 
along like well-behaved ponies. But you would enjoy 
seeing a team get excited and become unruly, as it 
does sometimes, when a canine enemy approaches. 
Then the dogs are bound to have a fight. Over goes 
the milk wagon, cans fly, dogs are all twisted up to- 
gether. A fine time the poor owner has to reduce 
things to order. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



37 



In this queer land one sometimes sees a woman 
harnessed, instead of dogs, and pulling the milk carts 
as though she were but a beast of burden. Sometimes 
women and boys harnessed to long ropes tow the canal 
boats up and down. 




A MILK WAGON 



Carts or boats, loaded with all sorts of vegetables, 
stop at the door. In Holland vegetables are sold by. 
weight, but more frequently by the meal. 

When the cart or boat comes to the door, the house- 
keeper will ask for potatoes or beans or peas for 
eight persons. The market woman spreads out the 



38 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



amount and names her price. The house-keeper is 
keen to get all she can, the market-woman to give as 
little as possible Then follows a great haggling, so 
that either the price is lowered or more goods given. 




CARRYING WATER 

Holland is certainly a queer land. What do you 
think of a country that belongs to the sea, a country 
filled with rivers crawling to the sea, with lakes always 
anxious to wash the land, overflowing canals for 
streets, ditches for fences, and, yet with water, water, 
everywhere, not a drop to drink 9 Up or down the 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



39 



canals ply the water barges, from which the people 
buy their drinking water. Girls and boys bring great 
water jugs to the boats to be filled. They carry the 
water to houses away from the canals and sell it just 
as milk is sold in our country. 

WINDfllLLS. 

No matter which way we turn in Holland, we will 
see great, long-armed windmills standing like so many 
soldiers on duty. 

Holland is a country of windmills. Not only do the 
Dutch work themselves, but they make the slightest, 
daintiest breeze work for them. 

The great windmills pump the water into the canals 
and out of the canals, out of lakes and rivers. They 
drain the land, they grind the corn, they saw the 
wood, beat the hemp, and in many other ways work 
for man. 

The windmills are generally built in the form of a 
two-story tower, very broad at the bottom and taper- 
ing all the way to the top. The roof is made to turn 
with the wind. Just below the roof, the great arms 
are fastened, that carry the sails; the slightest wind 
sets these in motion, and so starts the works within the 
windmills. 

The sails range in size from fifty to one hundred and 
thirty feet in length. So delicately are the sails ad- 
justed, that, like well-trained soldiers, they are ever 
ready to obey the slightest command. When a little 
wind springs up, the gre^t sails spread themselves and 
immediately begin to /pump, to grind, to pound or do 

whatever task has been allotted to them. When it 

1 

/ X 



40 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



ceases to blow the sails hang limp and lifeless, but 
ready, at the first breath, for duty again. 

The windmills are gayly painted red, green, brown 
or blue. When the sails are new they are snowy white, 

but age colors 
them a dirty gray. 

It is said that 
there are 12,000 
windmills in Hol- 
land, and that it 
costs yearly ten 
millions of dollars 
to keep them in 
working order. 

But, alas! these 
gay, picturesque 
time-honored land 
marks are doomed. 
Gradually steam 
and electricity are 
taking their 
places. Already 
ugly, brick build- 
ings, with great 
tall chimneys, 
have been built to house the great giants of the 19th 
century, steam and electricity. 

-Wfeti Holland ceases to use her windmills, she will 
have lost one of her chief characteristics. No on< 
ever thinks of Holland without thinking of windj 
mills. 




A HOLLAND LANDMARK 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



41 



HAARLEM. 

Ten miles from Amsterdam lies the brave old his- 
toric town of Haarlem. It is sometimes called the 
floral city of Holland. Here we find gardens gay with 
tulip, hyacinth and crocus. Throughout Holland all 
flowers are loved, but the city of Haarlem especially 
loves the gay tulip, which.is regarded as the queen of 
flowers. 

Over this flower Holland once became crazy. Yes, 
once upon a time the wise, staid, unexcitable Hollanders 
actually went wild over tulips, and lost many of their 
precious florins in the mad desire to own the choicest 
and most beautiful specimens. 

The first tulip seen in Holland came from Constanti- 
nople in 1599. This was admired very much by some 
rich Hollanders, and they sent to Turkey for more 
bulbs. Then the Hollanders began to compare flowers ; 
they grew envious ; each tried to see who could own the 
finest tulip beds and get the choicest, most beautiful 
and rarest variety of this flower. This desire grew un- 
til everyone, rich and poor, had but one thought— tu- 
lips. The country actually became tulip crazy, and 
people spent large sums of money for a single bulb. 
One variety, called the Semper Augustus, brought* the 
sum of five thousand dollars. One rich man gave half 
his fortune for a single bulb. 

The craze grew and grew, so that men parted not 
only with money, but with land, houses, furniture, 
clothing and jewelry; everything went for tulips. 
Think of giving a house for a flower bulb, of quarrel- 
ling with a friend over a flower. 

One day, an English botanist, who was visiting his 



42 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



friend in this queer, mad Holland, picked up a bulb. 
Not knowing its value, he cut it in two, and was most 
carefully studying it, when the owner suddenly ap- 
peared, and in a rage asked the botantist what he was 
doing. The Englishman cooly answered, " Peeling a 
most extraordinary onion." This calm answer only 
increased the wrath of the Dutchman, who seized the 
unfortunate botanist, and in spite of his struggles, 
dragged him through the streets to a magistrate's 
office. 

There the poor Englishman learned to his sorrow, 
that he had destroyed a bulb worth sixteen hundred 
dollars, and that to prison he must go, unless the sum 
was paid. 

Another story is told of an unfortunate cook who, 
mistaking a tulip bulb for an onion, ate it, and met 
with a similar fate. 

So the craze continued until every one, rich and 
poor, young and old, men, women and children, were 
buying, selling and quarrelling over tulips. 

Fortunes were made and lost in a day, and then 
again others lost all they had. The only thing the peo- 
ple could think of was tulips. 

At last the government became alarmed, and said 
the speculation in tulips must stop. People were 
made to see how foolish they had been. Down tumb- 
led the price of tulips. The tulip bubble burst! 
Debts were not paid. Creditors went to law. But it 
was no use, for tulip debts could not be collected, 
for the law said that the buying and selling of these 
bulbs was nothing but gambling, and therefore, such 
debts could not be collected. 



A LITTLE JOUENEY TO HOLLAND. 



43 



Gradually the country recovered from the tulip 
panic While the flowers are still grown in immense 
quantities, it is only as other beautiful flowers are 




THE CATHEDRAL OF HAARLEM. 



Flowers seem to know when they are loved, and 
bloom here with great profusion, as if to give thanks 
for the loving care bestowed on them. 

A walk about the city soon convinces us that the trees 
and shrubs are also carefully cared for. Tree trunks 
are gayly painted white, blue, yellow, or bright red. 



44 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



Frequently the fences are living, growing hedges cut 
in all sorts of fantastical shapes. The shrub most used 
is the box-plant. This is a stocky, thick stemmed bush 
with small, dark glossy green leaves. Perhaps you 
have seen it used as a border in some old-fashioned 
flower-garden. 

The hyacinth is a source of great wealth in Holland. 
No where else is it brought to so great a perfection in 
color and bloom. There is a tract of a thousand acres 
around Haarlem devoted to the culture of the bulbs. 
Millions of these are sent- to all parts of the world. 
Forty thousand persons are engaged in the culture of 
this flower, and Haarlem is the center of the hyacinth 
trade of the world. 

For years, next to its floral display, the city was 
proud of owning the largest organ in the world. Peo- 
ple from far and near visited St. Baron's Cathedral to 
hear this wonderful organ that has four key boards, 
sixty-four stops and five thousand pipes, some of 
which are as slender as a pipe stem, while others are 
large enough for a man to crawl through. 

The celebrated masters, Mozart and Handel, have 
played on this organ. The story is told that Handel, 
one day, entered the church alone, and at once began 
to draw such music from this organ as to fairly 
frighten the organist, who was standing at the church 
door, for he knew no one pair of hands could strike so 
many notes at once; finally he plucked up courage to 
enter the church and found that it was Handel pour- 
ing out his soul, not only witli his hands but using his 
nose for the notes out of reach of his fingers. 

In the square outside the Cathedral is a large bronze 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



45 



statue of Laurenze Janson, the sexton of the Cathed- 
ral. The Dutch claim that this man was the one who 
first invented printing. Just as Janson was about to 
reveal the art of printing he became sick, and his 
servant stole the type, which he carried to his brother 
Gutemberg in Germany. Gutemberg immediately 
made the art of printing known, claiming it to be his 
invention. The world accepts this as true, all but 
Holland, and she, in spite of all proofs, declares print- 
ing to be Janson' s art. 

In Dutch history Haarlem occupies a prominent 
place. Many a scar has been left here by the Spanish. 
Philip IT, King of Spain, claimed the right to force 
the Hollanders to obey certain unjust laws, which it 
pleased him to lay upon this little country. 

The Dutch submitted for a time, then rebelled. 
Philip sent the Duke of Alva, a very cruel Spanish 
general, to conquer them. He thought this would be 
an easy task, as the city was surrounded by a very 
weak wall. Much to his amazement, every time his 
men tried to storm the city they were driven back. 
Not only did the men fight, but women and children. 
When they could not use fire arms, they made use of 
boiling hot water and stones. While the Spanish 
army slept at night the Dutch worked like beavers 
building a new wall within the old. When the Span- 
iards battered down the old wall, it was to find a 
stronger one had been reared just within. Months 
went by and the Hollanders were starving to death. 
They had made a brave resistance, but it was no use. 
Then they determined to rush through the enemy's 
line and make one last effort for safety. The Spaniards 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



heard of this, and the Duke of Alva promised to 
pardon and spare the lives of the citizens if they 
would surrender the town. Believing the Duke, the 
Dutch surrendered. The Spaniards, headed by the 
hated Duke of Alva, who knew not the meaning of 
truth and honor, butchered every human being, young 
and old. 

If you will look on an old map of Holland you will 
see Haarlem Lake. Here during the sixteenth century, 




CITY HALL OF HAARLEM. 

| when Spain was fighting little Holland, the Dutch had 
a glorious victory. Spaniards laid seige to Haarlem 
and intended to capture the Dutch ships. They were 
not used to ice, and while these brave, gay, Spanish 
soldiers were slipping and tumbling and sprawling all 
over the ice, they found themselves taken captive by 
an army of Dutch on skates. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



47 



But this Haarlem lake is no longer on the maps. At 
one time it was a shallow but exceedingly troublesome 
body of water, which frequently in times of storm 
flooded the country and there was always the danger 
that it might unite with the ocean and do untold mis- 
chief. For years the natives had anxiously watched 
this lake, and talked about draining it, but it was not 
until 1839 that the government began the work. 

The first step was to surround the entire lake by a 
dyke and an encircling canal 37 miles in length. It 
took nine years for this work. In 1848 three huge en- 
gines began the work of pumping out the water from 
the lake. It was not until 1852 that the lake was dry 
and 45,000 acres of fertile land was added to Holland. 
Every acre of this great polder was sold at a price that 
almost paid for the enormous expense of draining It. 

From all parts of Holland came farmers anxious to 
buy this land, so that on this polder, working side by 
side, are peasants in the quaint custumes of various 
sections of the country. Roads now cross this, the 
once lake, in every direction. So successful was the 
drainage of Haarlem Lake that the Hollanders have 
planned to add another huge polder to their country. 

Will you look at the map of Holland and notice the 
Zuyder Zee, how it bites into Holland? Zuyder Zee 
literally means South Sea, and is a branch of the 
North Sea. 

Run a line across the Zuyder Zee from Enkluizen 
to the river Yssel, a distance of 28 miles. Here it is 
proposed to build a dyke and then drain this mmense 
enclosed tract. This work will take years of Dutch 
pluck and work, and will cost many millions of dollars. 



48 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



But so fertile will the soil of this polder be that many 
miles of valuable land will be added to the country. 

CANALS. 

Holland has been called the "Land of dykes and 
ditches." It has not only raised walls to keep out the 
water, but walls to keep the water in the country. 
The Dutch not only fight the water, but make it 
captive, a slave to serve in every possible way. Canals 
cross the country ii) every direction. Many of the 
streets and avenues are not paved roads, such as we 
have in our cities and towns, but are water streets or 
canals. These canals are of all sizes, from the great 
North Holland ship canal, the wonder of the world, to 
very narrow ditches. 

The North Holland canal is 50 miles long, and ex- 
tends from Amsterdam to the Helder. It enables ves- 
sels trading from Amsterdam to avoid the islands and 
sand-banks of the dangerous Zuyder Zee. 

The New Amsterdam canal is about 16^ miles in 
length, 25 feet in width, and extends from Amster- 
dam to the North Sea. 

There is a net-work of canals, connecting the vil- 
lages and towns of Holland, and between these ply 
stage boats carrying passengers, freight and sometimes 
the mail. The owner lives on the boat with his family. 
A large population lives in canal boats the year round. 
Many of the Dutch have no other home. Frequently 
children are born, spend their lives and die on the 
canal. Only after death does mother earth become 
the resting place. 

Houses are built on the sides of the canals. If a 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



49 



Hollander desires to go up, or down town, he hails a 
passing boat, just as we would hail a cab or car in our 
own city. Vessels are frequently hitched like horses 
to door posts. Merchandise is carried from store to 
the homes by boats. The transportation of goods is 




CANAL SCENE. 

an important industry in Holland. Transportation 
by water is easy to every part of the country. 

The flat tops of the dykes are used as wagon roads, 
and very excellent roads they make. Tramways and 



50 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



railways are easy to build in so level a country as 
Holland, and there are a number of them, but the 
thrifty Hollanders find it cheaper and more convenient 
to use their ditches and canals for transportation. 

LEYDEN. 

This quiet, sleepy little town, like others in Holland, 
is quaint, picturesque and clean. Leyden consists of 
fifty islands joined together by more than one hundred 
and fifty canals. Many little branches of the river 
Rhine meander sluggishly through marsh and fen. 
Canals intersect the towns in all directions. In this 
place, as well as at Utrecht, are produced the hard bricks 
called Dutch clinkers, that are used to pave the roads 
throughout the country. Leyden, like the city of 
Haarlem, suffered from the cruelties of the Spaniads. 
And as we pause before a monument, our guide will 
tell us that is the great Van der Werf, the hero who 
saved Leyden from Spanish hands. 

How, do you ask? Simply by Dutch pluck. It hap- 
pened this way. After the awful siege of Haarlem, the 
Spanish determined to conquer Leyden. Knowing 
how false and cruel the Spaniards were to Haarlem, 
the people of Leyden resolved never to surrender. 

Then came awful months when the enemy sur- 
rounded the town and amused themselves by sending 
fire, misery and death into their midst. For a long 
time they could get no word to the Prince of Orange, 
commander of the Dutch army. Then, as a last resort, 
carrier-pigeons were used. These birds were sent fly- 
ing over the heads of the Spanish army, carrying un- 
der their wings messages for help. Months went by. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



51 



No help came. With true Dutch patience they waited 
and suffered. At length, they received word that the 
Prince had cut the dykes. He would destroy the rich 
farm lands rather than give it up to the enemy. Then, 
too, by cutting the dykes, the sea would enable him to 
float a fleet to the walls of the city and wash the Span- 
iards out of their forts. 

Hope ran high for a time. But alas ! it seemed as 
though the sea was the ally of the Spanish army, for 
the water refused to rise. Then came a dreadful per- 
iod of waiting. These people were starving. Horses, 
dogs, cats, even the blades of grass were devoured and 
there was nothing more. Then came a plague and the 
people died in great numbers. How the sufferers 
prayed for food and rain ! They finally sought the 
burgomaster, Van der Werf, and begged him to sur- 
render, for these brave people felt they could bear no 
more. Even Dutch endurance had reached its limit, 
they thought, Do you think Van der Werf agreed 
with them? Well, this was his answer. "I have sworn 
to defend this city, and, with God's help, I mean to do 
it! If my body can satisfy your hunger, take it, and 
divide it among you, but expect no surrender so long 
as I am alive. " 

This brave answer gave renewed courage. Soon 
their prayers were answered. One dark night, the rain 
came in torrents. The sea with its huge waves came 
marching up, up to the city's walls, flooding the Span- 
ish camps, drowning many, while others fled for their 
lives, just when, if they had known it, the city was 
ready to surrender. The sea did for the Dutch what 
fire could not do. 



52 A. LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND^ 

What joy in the morning, when they saw the Dutch 
fleet laden with bread and fish and, better yet, their 
own beloved Prince. 

What do you think was the first thing these glad 
people did? Eat, do you say? Ah, no, they were too 
thankful. They entered the Cathedral and sang a 
thanksgiving hymn. 

Afterward, when the Prince heard how they had suf- 
fered, and of the heroic defense they had made, he 
offered to release them from all taxes. 

With true Dutch pluck, they answered, "We prefer 
to have a university/' 

Was not that a noble answer for these weakened 
people to make? Ah, but it is only those who can suf- 
fer and be strong that ever do the great things of this 
world. 

The people of Ley den knew that "knowledge is 
power." And so the Ley den University was founded. 
In the course of time this became famous and drew 
scholars from all civilized lands to enjoy its advant- 
ages. 

This ancient city of Holland is closely connected 
with our own history. From here came a number of the 
pilgrims who crossed in the Ma} flower . These brought 
with them many a liberal idea that they had learned 
from the Dutch while living in Leyden under the pas- 
toral care of John Robinson. You know how the Pil- 
grims were driven out of England, and obliged to seek 
safety in Holland. Here they lived and were well 
treated, but they saw that their children were fast 
losing English ways and speech and becoming Dutch- 
men. If they would keep their own nationality they 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 53 

must leave Holland. So in the Speedwell they sailed 
from Delftshaven, Holland, to Southhampton, England, 
where they were to join the Mayflower. Both ships 
started for America, but the Speedwell sprang a leak 




A STREET IN UTRECHT. 



and they were obliged to put back for repairs. Once 
again they started, but were obliged to return, for the 
Speedwell was unseaworthy. At length the Mayflower 
started alone and entered Plymouth, Mass., in 1620, 



54 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



bringing broader and more liberal ideas from contact 
with Ley den thought. 

Holland has been a haven of refuge for the perse- 
cuted Jew, hunted Pilgrim, Protestant and Catholic 
suffering from the bigotted of the opposite power. 
Holland was the first country not only to teach but to 
practice religious liberty and toleration of all mankind 
to all mankind. 

The little germ of toleration brought from Holland, 
took deep root in America; so that to-day our repub- 
lic offers freedom of thought to all. 

Many of our customs come direct to us from Hol- 
land. The first settlers of New York, New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania and Delaware were the Dutch. Many 
towns and streets still retain Dutch names. 

Albany was once called Fort Orange in honor of 
William," Prince of Orange, and New York was New 
Amsterdam. It was the English who changed the 
names. Many of our finest and best people trace their 
ancestors back to Holland. Our President, Roosevelt, 
is of Dutch descent. 

It was the Dutch who taught us to make doughnuts, 
crullers, waffles and buckwheat cakes. 

The pretty custom, once so universally kept, of mak- 
ing calls on New Year's Day is an old Holland cele- 
bration. 

This is their salutation: 

"I wish you a Happy New Year! 
Long may you live! 
Much may you give! 
Happy may you die! 
And Heaven he yours 
By and by." 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



55 



If we wish to see the finest Cathedral in Holland, we 
must go to Utrecht. The town is also celebrated for 
its beautiful velvet, silks and woolen goods. 

THE HAGUE 

Nine and a half miles from Leyden is the Hague, 
the political capital of Holland, The government 




THE HAGUE. 

buildings are in this place and it is the court residence 
of the Dutch princes. Queen Wilhelmina was born in 
the royal palace at the Hague. 

Holland is a limited monarchy. While it has a 
Queen, it has also a Congress elected by the people. 



56 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



Visitors to the Hague almost always visit the palace 
of the Queen and the houses of Parliament, 

The city is famous for its fine palaces, splendid hotels, 
elegant homes and museums. It is thought by many 
to be the handsomest town in the country. The bath- 
ing on the beach near the Hague is excellent, and for 
this reason, and because of the presence of royalty, 
the place has become noted as a summer resort, 

The Hague is more like a European city than any 
other in Holland. Here we see less of the picturesque 
national costumes and more of the fashionable dress 
"right from Paris." 

Ambassadors from the foreign countries reside at 
the Hague, just as they do at our capital, Washington. 
Here we find many broad streets lined with tall 
magnificent elm and linden trees and homes of the 
well-to-do, prosperous Dutch. 

The very rich, as we count riches in America, are very 
few; so are the very poor. The people, as a whole, are 
comfortable. Each family has a little nest egg which 
is added to slowly but surely, until a comfortable 
sufficiency is reached. 

The picture gallery at the Hague attracts many 
visitors, and numbers of them may always be found 
grouped about two of the most noted pictures in the 
gallery, "The School of Anatomy," the masterpiece 
of Rembrandt, and "The Bull," by Paul Potter. 

This last named picture is one of the most wonder- 
ful ever painted. It once hung in the Louvre, and 
was considered the fourth picture in importance there. 
It was brought back to Holland after a time, however, 
and will probably never be allowed to leave the coun- 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



57 



try again. England has offered a million francs for 
it, but the Dutch will not part with it for any um. 
The picture is so life-like that it seems as if the ani- 
mals in it live and breathe. 

The stork is the heraldic crest of the city. A house 
has been built in the middle of the fish market for a 




PALACE OF JUSTICE. 



number of these birds, and they are fed and cared for 
at the expense of the city. 

Near the Hague, in the midst of a grand park 
called the Bosch, is a royal palace called "The House 
in the Wood.' ' A magnificent avenue two miles long, 



58 



A LITTLE JOURNEY lO HOLLAND. 



leads to the house. This is one of the finest promen- 
ades in the world. The grand old trees of this forest 
and park are regarded as almost sacred. No boy 
would think of breaking a bough or twig. 

So beautiful are these oaks that they touched the 
heart of that royal butcher, Philip of Spain, and his 




PRINCESS STREET, THE HAGUE. 



assistant, the Duke of Alva. While the Spaniards 
were slaying the men of Holland by thousands, Philip 
issued the order that the trees should be spared, not a 
branch was to be broken. 

Queen Wilhelmina spends part of her time in this 
"House in the Woods." The building is very plain on * 
the outside, but within is beautifully furnished and 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



59 



decorated. It is noted for its fresco works by the 
celebrated painter, Peter Paul Rubens, and for its 
tapestries. 

Would you like a glimpse of the beach near by? 1 hen 
let us call for a carriage or else take this tram car. It 
will be a delightful ride of about three miles through 
the city, and a park containing the most beautiful old 
trees A seat on the top of the car is very pleasant, as 
it enables us to see about us. We will not need to 
carry sua shades. The trees of the forest are so large 
and^so close to the car track that their branches almost 
meet overhead. 

The name of the watering place to which we are go- 
ing is Scheveningen, on the shores of the North Sea. 
Crowds of people are walking about on the beach, when 
we arrive. Some of them are fashionably dressed, 
others are humbly attired fisher folk or laboring people. 

The beach is strewn with great covered wicker chairs, 
for those who can afford to rent them. Many people 
spend hours on the beach in these snug places, pro- 
tected from the wind and sun. If one grows tired 
watching the waves, he has only to turn the chair about 
and look at the people sauntering by, or listen to the 
music from a great building near by. 

Back from the beach a little way, are a number of 
fine hotels and shops and booths, where one can buy all 
sorts of curios as souvenirs to take home. 

If one grows hungry, there is a little refreshment 
stand near by, where lemonade and cherries may be 
bought, Every one seems to be buying and eating 
cherries, so we buy some too. and then proceed to hire 



60 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



little bath houses, yes hire, 1 ttle bath houses, for that 
is the way people do here. 

We are going to have a salt water bath. So we en- 
ter tiny bath houses on wheels, and men push them out 
into the water. Then we put on our bathing suits and 
step into the water. This salt water bath is the most 
enjoyable part of the trip to the beach, and after it we 
feel refreshed and ready to continue our journey. 

DELFT. 

The word Delft brings to our minds tiles, cups and 
saucers, plates and clocks with scenes of ships, can- 
als, windmills, rivers, fields and cows painted in that 
beautiful, dark, rich blue known the world over as 
Delft blue. 

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, 
Delft was a busy manufacturing town, celebrated 
chiefly for its potteries. But, like everything else, 
people lost the craze for this ware, so that gradually 
the potteries were obliged to close. Just at present, 
the taste for this ware has been revived, and while the 
work of to-day is very artistic, the art of coloring it 
as in the early days is a lost art. 

There are shops in this town that contain little else 
beside this porcelain ware, and as all tourists wish to 
take home some souvenir of Holland, they usually part 
with some of their Dutch money here. 

Dutch money is in florins (or guldens) and cents. A 
florin is a silver coin worth forty cents in our money. 
It is worth one hundred Dutch cents, so you see 
that a Dutch cent is worth but two fifths as much 
as one of our pennies. There are other coins also— 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



61 



half florins, or guldens, quarter guldens, tenth guldens 
and twentieth guldens, and half pennies. They have 
a silver coin worth two and a half gulden pieces, that 
corresponds to our dollar, and gold coins of larger de- 
nominations. 

It was of this town that Longfellow wrote in 
"Keramos." 

"What land is this? Yon pretty town 
Is Delft, with all its wares displayed; 
The pride, the market place, the crown 
And center of the Potter's trade. 
. See! every house and room is bright 
With glimmers of reflected light 
From plates that on the dresser shine; 
Flagons to foam with Flemish beer, 
Or sparkle with the Rhenish wine, 
And pilgrim flasks with fleurs-de-lis, 
And ships upon a rolling sea, 
And tankards pewter topped, and queer 
With comic mast and musketeer, 
Each hospitable chimney smiles 
A welcome from its painted tiles; 
The parlor walls, the chamber floors, 
The stairways and the corridors. 
The borders of the garden walks, 
Are beautiful with fadeless flowers, 
That never droop in wind or showers 
And never wither on their stalks." 

This little town is rich in memories of William the 
Silent, Prince of Orange, or as the Dutch love to speak 
of him, Father William. Here he lived, here he was 
murdered by Gerard, and here, in the royal mausoleum, 
in the new church, lie all the princes of Orange. There 
are two large monuments in Delft to William, Prince 
of Orange. Also one to Hugo Grotius, who devoted 
himself to a literary life. 

They tell a funny story of this hero. Having dis- 



62 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



pleased the government, Grotius was seized and con- 
demned to imprisonment for life. He was allowed at 
stated intervals to receive a large chest of books. At 
first the guards carefully inspected the huge chests as 
they passed to and fro. But as time passed on the 
guards grew careless of opening chests that contained 
nothing but heavy books and linen. One day Grotius' 
wife,who shared his prison, persuaded him to jump 
into the chest. After locking it, she sent for the 
soldiers, as usual, to carry the chest to the vessel. 
They did so, grumbling all the while at the weight of 
the chest. Finally, after many narrow escapes, he 
reached Paris, where his bright wife joined him. He 
was never allowed to return to Holland. But while in 
exile he wrote many books of which Holland is very 
proud. 

THE STORK. 

In traveling about through the country, we notice 
numbers of huge birds, standing about in the fields, on 
the tops of houses, or flying about with great wings 
loosely napping. They are the storks, so loved and 
revered by the Dutch. They seem more numerous in 
and about Delft than anywhere else. They are very 
tame too, and in this town walk about the streets, and 
sometimes even into the buildings. 

The stork is the national bird of Holland, just as the 
eagle is ours. We find it engraved upon the arms 
of the capitol. The bird is protected by law, and any 
one guilty of killing a stork would be severely pun- 
ished. A boy would never think of hurting a stork or 
disturbing its nest. The Dutch believe that the storks 
bring good luck to any house to which they come. As 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



63 



an inducement they place old cart wheels close to the 
chimneys of their thatched gable roofs, hoping that 
the storks may honor them with a nest. The birds are 
fond of building their nests on the roofs of houses. 




AT THE GATE OF DELFT. 



Sometimes a pole is stuck into the ground and a bas- 
ket placed on it for the storks. 

The Dutch also value these birds because of their 



64 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



usefulness. They devour the frogs and toads that go 
hopping about out of the canals, and rid the country of 
other reptiles and insects. 

One of the stories told of the stork in Delft, illustrates 
a noted trait of the bird— its great affection for its 
young. One day a terrible fire was raging in the town. 
It ran from roof to roof, from street to street. The 
mother storks on the roofs tried to carry away their 
little ones from the nests on the roofs, but the young 
birds were too heavy. When the mother birds found 
they could not save their little ones, they sat down on 
their nests, covered their little ones with their wings, 
and died in the flames. 

Many other stories are told of this bird, but none of 
of them is prettier than the story of the storks told 
by Hans Andersen. The nurses in Holland tell the 
Dutch children that the storks bring the little babies. 

FLOWERS. 

Everywhere in this country, the love of flow r ers is 
noticeable. We see them growing not only in the well 
kept gardens of the rich, but in the little window boxes 
of the poor. Even the canal boats have well kept 
flower beds. Gay tulips, sweet hyacinths with their 
fairy-like bells, and the brave little purple and yellow 
crocus, flourish in every garden, great or small. Pond 
lilies with their great fan-like leaves are encouraged to 
grow not only in ponds but in rivers and canals. The 
sandy soil of Holland, mixed with the rich marsh 
mould, is well adapted to the growing of bulbs. 

Many of the old sea captains, when they found flow- 
ers growing in foreign countries, and not known in 



f 

A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 65 

Holland, would bring home with them a bulb or slip. 
If the air of Holland or its soil did not suit a plant, 
they would make a soil or climate that it would flour- 
ish in. The Dutch were the inventors of the green or 
hot house. They discovered how to slope the glass of 
the hot house so as to get the most power from the 
sun's rays. For over a century Holland led all -coun- 
tries in the culture of plants and flowers. 

ROTTERDAM. 

From the quiet, quaint old city of Delft to Rotter- 
dam, the greatest seaport of Holland, is but a short 
journey. The city is on the right bank of the Maas 
River, near the mouth of the Rhine, about fourteen 
miles from the North Sea. Its excellent situation gives 
it the control of the inland trade with Germany and 
the heart of Europe. Rotterdam is the European 
terminus for some of the great steamship lines. It is 
from this place that most of the Dutch emigrants start. 

Rotterdam gets its name from the Rotte, a small 
stream running through the city, and the great dam 
built where the Maas River unites with the Rotte, 
hence, the name Rotterdam. We are interested to 
know that the first dyke built about Rotterdam was 
begun in 1000 A. D. Built in sections, this dyke was 
made one solid wall in 1281 A. D. It has been added 
to year by year, until it now has a length of more than 
forty miles. 

It was this dyke that the Prince of Orange in 
1574 cut to flood the country, when the Spaniards 
were besieging Leyden. After the Spaniards had 
been drowned or driven out by the sea, let loose 



66 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



upon the land, and the people of Leyden saved from 
starvation by the relief boats, the water was driven 
back and this dyke was mended. By the year 1615, 
Rotterdam ranked as a first class city. 




IN OLD ROTTERDAM. 



Rotterdam has a population of 310,000. It is the 
second commercial town in Holland, and so ex- 
cellent is its site that it bids fair to surpass 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



(37 



Amsterdam. The chief attraction in this city is 
a fine quay 1| miles long, called the Boomp- 
jes, which means little trees; these are elms, little 
trees when planted, in 1615, in a long line, but now 
they are grown to be majestic, noble elms. On one 
side of the pier lie the brightly painted river steamers, 
ready to carry passengers and freight up the Rhine 
and Moselle. Here also we see the huge rafts loaded 
with wood and timber brought down the Rhine from 
the dense forests of Germany. 

On the other side of the pier are the great 
ocean steamers and ships that ply between Hol- 
land and all parts of the world. As we read 
Borneo, Java, Celebes, Sumatra, names painted on 
some of the vessels and see loads of spices and trop- 
ical fruits carried ashore, we know at once that these 
vessels are the connecting link between the Dutch East 
Indies and the little mother country, Holland. Here 
are also large steamers loaded with goods for and from 
the United States. 

Among the places of interest in the city is a cathed- 
ral, with a great organ of fifty thousand pipes; a mu- 
seum, gallery and reading rooms where all the journals 
of Europe may be found; a number of charitable insti- 
tutions and the market place. 

In the narrow streets we meet Dutch country girls 
in odd costumes, going to this market to sell their milk 
or cheese. Some of them ride donkeys and others 
walk beside dogs. Some are carrying fruit in baskets. 
The baskets are hung from each end of a pole, which is 
carried on the shoulders. 

Such a queer market; it is held in a grove of trees in 



68 



A LITTLE JOi/rNEY TO HOLLAND. 



the middle of a great square — and that square is built 
on vaults over the canals. 

Articles are exhibited for sale in booths and in hun- 
dreds of odd little carts. There are carts of cabbages, 

and melons, cel- 



ery, vegetables 
and fruits of 
every kind and 
color, There 
are great piles 
of fruit and 
vegetables a 1 1 
j u m b 1 e d to- 
gether, or in 
baskets, on the 
pavements. 

Women, with 
knitting in their 
hands, tend to 
the stalls or 
carts, and dogs 
guard the pos- 
sessions of their 
masters and 
mistresses. 

In the square 
is a statue of the 
great scholar 

Erasmus. His eyes are fastened on an open book he 
holds in his hand. But no one pays any attention to 
him in this busy place. 

A little way from the square is the cathedral. The 




THE MARKET. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



69 



chimes in the steeple play every hour of the day and 
night— the national airs, or parts of the German and 
Italian operas. 

ON THE CANAL. 

Close to the market are many canals, crowded with 
boats that bring fish, vegetables, fruit and other kinds 
of food to the city . Many of these come from the farms 
near by. 

Our journey would be incomplete without a trip to 
the country on one of these boats. Let us go aboard 
this one nearest us. It looks like a long house on a 
barge, and that is what it is. It is drawn by a horse 
that is attached to it by a long rope. The driver car- 
ries a horn, which he blows when he wants a bridge 
raised or when he meets another boat. 

There are two cabins in the boat. The one we first 
enter has cushioned seats on two sides. The windows 
have white curtains. There is a cupboard containing 
tea things, and a table. Everything is very clean. 
The men in the cabin are all smoking. It does not 
seem to occur to them that there may be passengers 
who do not like the tobacco smoke about them. 

Looking from the windows, we can see odd little gar- 
den houses, overhanging the side of the canal. They 
have their names written upon them, and queer names 
some of them are too. The stiff little gardens are gay 
with tiers of flower pots. The trees are closely cut, 
and the trunks painted red, blue and yellow. Even 
the grass is painted in striped patterns, like a carpet. 

At every turn of the boat a lovely picture meets the 
eye. The winding canal bears us past villas and 
fine farms, through quiet, windmill- dotted meadows, 



70 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



where sheep and cattle graze; we meet other boats — 
comfortable house boats, where the owners seems to 
live exactly as if they were in houses on the land. 
There are curtains at the windows, and perhaps bird 
cages. The mother sits on deck, rocking a cradle, 
sewing or preparing vegetables for dinner. The chil- 
dren frolic on the deck with dogs, and never seem to 
tumble off into the water. 

Some of these boats carry garden produce, others 
fuel, stone or other freight. When these boats meet 
they are often stopped in order that their owners may 
visit each other, or chat awhile. 

COUNTRY LIFE. 

Near the cities and spread along the principal canals 
and rural highways are the villas of the wealthy Dutch 
merchants. They are usually surrounded by broad 
grounds, green fields and well cultivated farms. 

The houses are covered with thick paint of every 
color, and ornamented with stucco and odd coats-of- 
arms. They are not at all beautiful, to American eyes. 
The trees are trimmed or clipped to look like the 
wooden trees that come with the toys that are given 
our children on Christmas. The gardens are laid out 
in stiff patters in rows and ridges. 

Agriculture is the chief industry of Holland, but 
more land is devoted to pasturage than to crops. A 
part of the land is fertile and well cultivated, but 
much of the country is too marshy to be tilled. 
Neither will wood grow on it. But it yields rich green 
grass or hay, and gives food to great herds of cattle. 
Horses, hogs, sheep and goats are also raised on these 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



71 



lowland farms. The peasants who raise stock are 
called boers. 

About half the land in Holland is owned by the 
peasant farmers who cultivate it. There are no large 
estates here, such as we saw in Great Britain. The 
Dutch peasants are as a rule polite, intelligent, self- 

reliant, sober and 
j industrious. Many 
of them are w 7 ell 
educated. While 
there are few very 
rich among them, 
there are also few 
who are poor. 
Even the poorest 
usually has a patch 
of ground and a 
pig or two. 

Among the more 
common crops are 
wheat, rye, oats, 
buckwheat, horse- 
beans, beets, mad- 
der, chicory, to- 
bacco, hemp, flax, 
a Frisian child. oil seed and hops. 

The farmers have little canals around their fields 
and gardens, that serve to drain the land and take the 
place of walls or hedges. These canals also act as 
roadways. 

The farmer loads his hay on boats, directly from the 
fields and sends it home to be stored away. The milk- 




72 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



maids come sailing down these same canals in the 
evening to milk the cows in the fields. Produce is 
taken to market, not in wagons, but in boats drawn 
by horses or by the farmer and wife or their servants. 

These boats are painted red or blue, and have brown 
sails. AH d&y long they ply the canals, loaded with 




A VILLAGE STREET. 



great piles of scarlet tomatoes, green cabbages, huge 
yellow gourds, fruit or hay. 

The whole family often accompanies the load to 
town, or to market, and sometimes live aboard the 
boat for days. The children enjoy these excursions 
more than anyone else, and are usually accompanied 
in their frolics on deck by the family dog. 

The Dutch farmer counts his wealth in cows and 
windmills rather than many acres of land. Great herds 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



73 



of fine Holstein cattle may be seen in his fields and 
meadows, during the summer. These cows are black 
and white, and very large, fine animals. The farmer 
feeds and watches them with as much care as his chil- 
dren, and they frequently sleep under the same roof 
that shelters him. and his family. 

The cow house and the parlor are sometimes side by 
side, and one is quite as clean a place as the other. 
Surely no cows in any other land have such pleasant, 
comfortable quarters. 

Let us take a look at one of their stables or cow houses 
on this dairy farm. The cows are not in it now. They 
leave their winter quarters in May and do not come 
back until November. 

The first room we enter contains stalls for thirty 
cows. The floors are of porcelain covered with a layer 
of white sawdust, Above each stall is a window cur- 
tained with neat white muslin curtains. Before the 
stall runs a trough of water for the cows to drink. In 
the ceiling behind each stall is an iron hook. You 
would never guess what this is for, so I will have to 
tell you. It is meant to hold in the air the cow's tail. 
During the winter, the cows are washed and combed as 
carefully as if they were children. They are petted and 
coddled, and every thing possible done for their com- 
fort. If the weather is cold they have the;r blankets 
or canvas coverings. 

These fine cows give great quantities of milk, and 
every year the Dutch send millions of pounds of butter 
to England. Great quantities of beef are also sent to 
England. 

In other rooms of this dairy, the milk is kept, and 



74 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



the cheese presses, where hard little balls of cheese are 
made. Great numbers of these cheeses are made and 
rent to other countries. 

Holland leads the world in the production of cheese. 
Cheese makers from other lands come to this country 
to learn the secret of their excellence. There are many 




THE WEALTH OP HOLLAND. 

kinds, one of them, the Edam, having a world-wide 
celebrity. This cheese is a great favorite of the Hol- 
landers. It has a peculiar red rind, and is considered 
the finest cheese made in Europe. 

Some of the farm houses are large and very com- 
fortable, and their rich owners live well. They give 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



75 



employment the year round to numbers of people who 
own no farms of their own. The married laborers live 
in the villages near by. 

The kitchen is the principal room in the home of 
the Dutch peasant. It has a tile or red brick floor, 
sprinkled with red sand, a brick hearth, and tiled 
walls. But everything is as clean as it is possible for 
soap and water to make it. The chairs and tables are 
polished, and the copper kettles and pans shine. 

It is necessary to be constantly rubbing and polish- 
ing, too, for the country is very damp audthe rust and 
mould would soon spoil the furniture and everything in 
the house. A bright open fire burns on the open hearth 
and the cool, damp climate makes its heat very 
welcome. 

You would look for the beds in these houses a long 
time before you would find them. When it is bed 
time, a sliding door in the wall is opened and the beds 
appear. They are like shelves, and contain the bed 
clothes and linen usually found on beds. 

In the room is a huge old chest filled to the cover 
with white linen. The Dutch housewife is very proud 
of her linen, and keeps enough in her house to last 
for many years. 

Free farms have been established in Holland by the 
government , to assist poor Hollanders and prevent 
them from becoming paupers. The law forbids beg- 
ging, and the absence of beggars and lack of poverty 
is due largely to the care exercised by the government. 

Men are taught to garden, to farm and do other 
kinds of work. When a man has acquired sufficient 
knowledge of farming he is given a little place of his 



76 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



own in a colony on a government farm. Such ten- 
ants are called free farmers, but they pay a small 
rent. 

The families on the farms are grouped into colonies 
of about fifty, and have schools, churches, and a school 
of gardening Each little farm contains about seven 

acres, and has a 
brick dwelling 
house, and a 
cow -shed. I f 
the farmer has 
no furniture it 
is provided for 
him. These 
free farmers or 
laborers are al- 
lowed to remain 
as long as they 
are industrious, 
or until t h ey 
are a b le to 
secure better 
places. 

All the 
churches look 
out for their 
poor. On Sun- 
day the collec- 
tion box is 

passed twice in the churches, once for the poor. The 
commune only takes care of the poor who do not 
belong to any of the churches. 




A COUNTRY HOME. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. (4 
THE FISHERIES OF HOLLAND. 

One of the leading industries of Holland is its fish- 
eries. The Zuyder Zee and the North Sea contain 
many food fish. The fish trade helped to make Hol- 
land the prosperous country she is. The North Sea 
was rich in herring. More were caught than could be 




GROUP OF HOLLAND FISHER CHILDREN. 



used, so a thoughtful fisherman, who understood the 
curing of fish, secured a few kegs, packed them with 
salted herring and shipped them to other countries. 
They were quickly sold and the demand came for 
more. After a time the Dutch herrings became 
famous all the world over, and the herring fisheries a 
source of great wealth to the country. 



78 



In 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 

the winter the vessels go out fishing for cod. For 

this fish they must 
go to the far north, 
and the fisher- 
men often meet 
with stormy 
weather. Some- 
times the fishing 
vessels are lost, 
and all on board 
perish. On the 
days when the 
fishing fleets sail 
away, special 
prayers are offer- 
ed in many of the 
churches for the 
protection of the 
fishermen and 
their success. 

RELIGION 

The people of Holland are very religious, and the 
church services are always well attended. The 
churches are not interesting. The interiors of many 
of them are cold, ugly and cheerless, with whitewashed 
walls. The pulpits are large, heavy and odd, though 
the carving on them is elaborate and sometimes 
beautiful. 

The_men wear their hats during preaching, removing 
them only at times of prayers and singing. Another 
odd sight to visitors from other lands, is the great pile 
of fire boxes in the vestibule of the churches, before 




A DUTCH BOAT 
Photographed by Mrs. J. H. Boyd. 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



79 



service. In the winter, the churches are not warmed, 
and these boxes are filled with a square of red hot peat, 
making a foot stove such as our grandparents used to 
have. 

The Protestant religion prevails. There are about 
half as many Catholics as Protestants, and a large num- 
ber of Jews. These last have been attracted to Hol- 
land because religion in the country is free. No one 
suffers on account of his creed. 

EDUCATION. 

Holland is one of the most advanced countries in 
Europe, in public education. Good schools for all are 
provided by the government. These are not free, but 
are nearly so. The fees are very moderate. In some 
places instruction is provided' to a pupil for a little over 
a penny a week. 

The very poor pay nothing, and in cities special 
schools are provided for them. 

Education is not compulsory, but all children are 
expected to attend school from twelve to fourteen 
years. 

But there are numbers of children in Holland who 
are not able to attend school. Among these are the 
country children, who live among the moors and fens, 
and those who live on board ship. The boats on 
which these little ones live, never remain in one place 
for any length of time. They must be forever on the 
move, carrying merchandise between far-distant places 
inland. They have no opportunity to attend the schools 
that are provided for them, but are beyond their reach. 

The school houses of Holland are fine buildings. The 



80 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



furniture is of the best, and the course of instruction 
excellent. Special attention is paid to drawing. The 
teachers are well trained for their work, and well 
paid. A house is built for the teacher a few yards 




THE EVENING SCHOOL. 
From a painting by Gerhardt Donne. 



away from the school building, and there he lives and 
plans the work for his assistants, teaching only those 
classes he likes best . The teacher in Holland is an 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



81 



important person, and is well cared for by the govern- 
ment. When too old to teach, he is pensioned as are 
our soldiers. 

Holland has three universities. One of them , the 
Leyden university, enjoys a world wide reputation for 
excellence. It has exercised a great influence in Hol- 
land. 

ANCIENT HOLLAND. 

Take a long look backward, and try to see Holland 
as it was before the Christian era. The sea rose and 
fell, stormed and tossed its waves over the greater 
part of the land we now call Holland. Instead of 
cities with canals, churches, steeples and windmills, 
was a country given over to marshy weeds, reeds and 
rushes and willow trees, growing by lakes, ponds and 
pools which furnished homes for millions of water 
birds and frogs. 

Floods were common. When the rain fall was great 
or when the ice and snow melted in great quantities, 
lakes and pools became roaring seas and the whole 
country would lie soaking in the water. 

The first human beings who lived here were hunters 
and fishermen, savages, who wore rough skins for 
clothing. These must have worked like human 
beavers, digging trenches and building dams to pro- 
tect their huts from the water. 

The real civilization of Holland did not begin until 
the Romans took possession of the country and began 
at once to construct dykes. 

The Romans were highly civilized when the people 
living about the North Sea were savages and bar- 
barians. The Romans soon subdued them, made 



82 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



slaves of them and compelled them to dig, build 
dykes, and fight for the glory of Rome. 

Under Roman rule, this country steadily improved 
for many years. Old Roman roads are now the main 
avenues of many a Dutch city. 

In digging down into the mire and peat, Roman 
coins two thousand years old, and curios of most anci- 
ent Roman workmanship are frequently found. With 
the fall of Rome came many changes and troubles. 
During the Roman rule the country made great strides 
toward civilization. But it was not until Christianity 
had full sway, that the true nobility of these people 
asserted itself. Then they dared to suffer and be 
strong. 

Many a battle have the Dutch had to hold their 
own. From time to time various European powers 
have desired to subdue and annex this little country. 

Here the Spaniards have left many a scar and mark 
of their hated presence. Even today many of the 
streets bear Spanish names. Spanish words have crept 
into the language. Many a Dutchman has a Spanish 
ancestor of whom he is ashamed. 

The Dutch threw off the Spanish yoke, just as we 
did the British, and for the same reason, taxation 
without representation. We, in forming our union of 
colonies in 1776, and declaring ourselves free by a 
declaration of independence and then fighting for 
freedom, were but imitating Holland, when she freed 
hersdf from Spain under the leadership of William of 
Nassau, Prince of Orange, surnamed the Silent. 

For his sake the House of Orange is loved and 
revered by the Dutch, who feel that they can never 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



83 



discharge their debt of gratitude. Many of his de- 



scendants were brave and wise. 




A BIT OF OLD HOLLAND. 



The last of the line is 
Wilhelmina, the 
present girl queen 
of Holland. 

The great Nap- 
oleon, who made 
all Europe trem- 
ble, whose one de- 
sire was to found 
an empire that 
should include all 
Europe, appreci- 
ated rich little 
Holland and 
claimed it as his 
because Holland is 
the creation of the 
Rhine. 

Napoleon said 
"the highland 
countries are mine 
by right of con- 
quest. Therefore 
the delta of the 
Rhine is also mine, 
as it is formed by 
the soil, washed 
down by the 
Rhine, from my 
other countries. " 
Holland, like the 



84 



A LITTTE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



other countries of Europe, suffered much from the 
whims of Napoleon. Then came troubles with its 
neighbor, Belgium. 

The rulers of Holland were not strong, wise men, 
seeking the good of the nation, but rather their own 
pleasures and glorification. 

It was not until the reign of William II (1841-1850) 
that Holland began to recover her old-time vigor. The 
granting of a new constitution, giving the people al- 
most the freedom and privileges of a republic, did 
much toward inspiring new hope and courage to the 
sturdy Dutch. 

This brave little country, besides working and watch- 
ing to keep the sea out of her land, and fighting her 
enemies in the land, has managed to acquire vast 
colonial possessions. In all parts of the world she has 
gained a foothold and has not hesitated to enter the 
colonial field with nations ten times as large. About 
the year of 1660, the Dutch controlled the commerce 
of the world. For a long time Holland was the only 
country with which Japan would allow any dealing. 
To-day, the museums and private houses of Holland 
are rich in all sorts of curios brought from China and 
Japan. 

The commercial supremacy of Holland was secured 
by a most powerful company, known as the Dutch East 
India Company. Its object was to secure a monopoly 
of the trade in the East and to keep up the prices 
of the great spice trade. This Company seized many 
large important islands, chief of which are Java, 
about the size of New York state, and famous the 
world over for its excellent coffee and sugar; Sumatra, 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



85 



noted for its great size, 1000 miles long, with an aver- 
age width of 160 miles, and for its spices, India rubber, 
gold, tin, coal and lead; and Borneo, larger than our 
Texas, noted for its spices, tobacco and great forests of 
valuable wood. 

It was. the Dutch East India Company who sent 
Henry Hudson to find a shorter way to the Pacific, 
with the result that he discovered the river in New 
York state that now bears his name, and laid claim to 
large tracts of land on this continent. 

When we think of the size of Holland, 12,648 square 
miles, with a population of little more than five millions 
—it seems almost incredible that she should be able to 
control the Dutch East Indies, which cover an area of 
736,400 square. miles with a population of about 34 
millions. 

To-day, this little country ranks fourth among the 
nations of Europe in foreign commerce. Not only is its 
trade by sea great, but by means of its canals and riv- 
ers, chiefly the Rhine, it has a large trade with the in- 
terior of Europe. 

HOLLAND OF TO-DAY. 

In 1890, King William III, the last member of the 
house of Orange, died and left the throne of Holland to 
his little daughter Wilhelmina. At this time she was 
but ten years of age, entirely too young to rule. 

Emma, the mother of the young Queen, was ap- 
pointed as ruler in her little daughter's place. So well 
did this Queen mother perform her task that Holland 
was in a better condition when Wilhelmina was crowned 
than it was when William III died. 



86 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



Emma, the Queen mother, not only ruled Holland 
well, but trained and educated her little daughter as 
the Hollanders wished; in quiet, solid Dutch ways. To 
this end the mother worked most faithfully, so that 
Queen Wilhelmina may justly say, with many, many 
others, "All that I am I owe to my mother." 

It is no fun to be a queen girl with a crown waiting 
for you as soon as you are old enough to wear it. There 
was not a day in which this girl queen could do as she 
pleased. No joyous freedom of shouting and racing 
with other children. When she went riding or driving, 
instead of laughing and chatting gayly with compan- 
ions of her own age, she must sit up straight and bow 
right and left to her loyal subjects, who are ever on the 
lookout for their loved queen. 

No companions of her own age; no one to play with. 
How would you like this? She was always watched 
over by an adult, lest some harm should come to her. 

It is true, Wilhelmina had ponies to ride and drive; 
beautiful yachts; silver skates; pretty sleds; dolls by 
the hundred. But, oh how she longed for just one lov- 
ing little playmate. Her chief companions were dolls. 
It is reported, that one day, when playing with them, 
she said to a naughty doll — 

"Now be good and quiet, because if you don't, I will 
turn you into a queen, and then you will not have any 
one to play with at all." 

On her fourteenth birthday her mother gave her fifty 
dolls. Do you not think that a beautiful birthday gift ? 
Oh, but you would not care for them, when you learn 
that each one of these dolls was not dressed in silk, 
satin or velvet, but in a stiff uniform to represent 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



87 



soldiers of different rank, that she might learn the dif- 
ferent uniforms of the Dutch Army. 

To he a king or queen means hard work, and long, 
long hours must be spent in study. Hours that you 
give to play, the child who is heir to a throne must give 
to dry study. 

Besides the lessons that other girls learned, Wilhel- 
mina had to study the dryest kind of lessons, all about 
the laws that govern her own country and those of 
other nations. 

Wilhelmina's daily life before her coronation was 
very simple and regular. "She rose at seven the year 
round, breakfasted at eight, and at nine promptly com- 
menced her lessons. At half past eleven she went to 
drive in an open carriage, regardless of the weather. 
A luncheon with her mother at half past twelve, was 
followed by another short drive, this time with the 
Queen Regent or with one of her governesses. On her 
return, lessons occupied her attention once more until 
four o'clock, after which time she was free to amuse 
herself at will until half past six, when dinner was 
served. At ten o'clock each night, the little queen was 
in bed as regularly as she was out of it." 

Thus she grew to womanhood. And on the 6th of 
September, 1898, amidst great rejoicings, this girl was 
crowned Queen of the Netherlands. No monarch since 
the days of William the Silent, has been so strong in 
pledges of love and loyalty as this young sovereign. 

A pretty feature of her coronation was the gather- 
ing of 6,000 homing pigeons from all over the country. 
The instant she was crowned Queen the doves were re- 



88 



A LITTLE JOURNEY TO HOLLAND. 



leased in the public square to carry to all parts of her 
kingdom her message of peace and good will. 

Wilhelmina was asked "What would you do, if the 
country was seized by a foreign power?' ' Her answer 
was "Cut the dykes." What would Holland be then? 
Would Holland be worth having? Would any other 
nation have the courage, the perseverance to restore 
these dykes, the work of centuries of patient toil and 
the cost of millions of dollars. 

Queen Wilhelmina's country has seen its best day. 
Holland exists to-day simply because the great powers 
protect her, just as a big brother looks out for a weaker 
one. Were the strong countries of Europe to unite 
they could easily wipe out this brave little nation, 
reared out of mud and swamp, civilized by Rome, 
christianized by Ireland, tortured by Spain, oppressed 
by France, subdued by many powers, but her spirit 
never crushed. 

Holland has the good will and admiration of all. 
After visiting the country and learning of its past 
history we must agree with a writer who has said that 
"There is not a braver,more heroic race than its quiet, 
passive looking inhabitants. Few nations have ex- 
celled it in important discoveries and inventions; none 
has excelled it in commerce, navigation and learning 
and science, or set as noble examples in the promotion 
of education and public charities; and none in propor- 
tion to its extent has expended more money and labor 
upon public works." 



TEACHER'S SUPPLEMENT. 



A Little Journey to Holland. 

The class or travel club has now completed the study of Holland, 
and is ready for a review. In order to make this interesting and 
impress the lessons learned, let the work be summed up in the form 
of an entertainment called 

AN AFTERNOON OR EVENING IN HOLLAND. 

For thia afternoon in Holland invitations may be written by the 
pupils, or mimeographed or hectographed and carried to friends 
and parents. 

If given as an evening entertainment and illustrated by stereopti- 
con views, handbills may be printed and circulated at least a week 
beforehand. The following form may be used: 

SCHOOL ENTERTAINMENT. 

A Trip to Holland for Fifteen Cents. 

You are invited by the pupils of the school (or the 

members of the Travel Class or Club) to spend an evening (or after- 
noon) in Holland. 

The party starts promptly at 1:30 P. M. (or 8 P. M.), 

the . Those desiring to take this trip should secure tickets be- 
fore the day of departure, as the party is limited. Guides are furn- 
ished free. 

The proceeds of this entertainment are to be used in the purchase 
of a library and pictures and stereopticon views for the school. 

SUGGESTIONS, 
The exercises should be conducted and the talks given by the 
pupils themselves. Some topic should be selected by each pupil, or 
assigned to him, and with this topic he should become thoroughly 
familiar. 

Geographies, books of travel, magazine articles and newspapers 
should be consulted until each pupil has his subject well in hand. 
He should also, where possible, secure photographs, pictures or ob- 

89 



90 



teacher's supplement. 



jects with which to illustrate his talk. At its close these should be 
placed upon a table, or the chalk tray, that visitors may examine 
them more closel}'. 

If the entertainment is given in the evening, the teacher may be 
able to use stereopticon views. 

These will prove a very great attraction to both pupils and parents, 
and should be secured if possible. The lantern with oil lamp may 
be easily operated by the teacher while the pupils give the descrip- 
tions of the pictures or give talks about the country. 

The lanterns and slides may be rented for the evening or after- 
noon at reasonable rates, and the- cost covered by an admission fee 
of from ten to twenty-five cents. 

A leader or guide may be appointed to make the introductory re- 
marks, and to announce the numbers of the programme. 

Other pupils speak of the journey to Holland, the people, indus- 
tries, scenery and special features of the country, as windmills, 
dykes, canals, etc. 

ROOM DECORATIONS. 
The favorite flower of the Hollanders, the tulip, should be given 
the preference in the room decorations for this occasion. If out of 
season, procure a few potted plants, and fill jars and vases with 
good imitations of paper tulips. Potted hyacinths may also be 
used. 

Place a border of tulips across the top of the black board, using 
colored crayons to secure the natural colors of the flowers. The 
invitations ma} T also be decorated with these flowers. 

In the center of the board write or print the words "Holland, the 
Land of Dykes and Ditches." Over the words hang a picture of 
Holland's Queen Wilhelmina, and about it group tiny flags. 

To the right of the front board sketch a large windmill; to. the 
left a stork. If possible secure several pieces of Delft porcelain 
ware, — and place on a small table near the desk. On the picture 
screens or on the side blackboards place pictures of famous Dutch 
artists, as Rembrandt, Paul Potter, Franz Hals, and their most 
famous pictures. 

Show pictures of Holstein cattle and n copy of Paul Potter's 
"Bull." 



SCHOOL ENTERTAINMENT. 



91 



If possible, secure a Dutch headdress, wooden shoes, and other 
articles belonging to the costume of the Dutch peasant for the curio 
table. 

Secure a collection of souvenir postal cards from friends, and also 
of photographs. The Perry and Stoddard pictures may also be 
added to the collection of pictures. 

The industries may be shown by a display of products or articles 
of Dutch workmanship, madder from Zulandand Friesland, herrings 
from the Vlaardingen, Edam Cheese, tile or pottery from Delft, tulip 
or hyacinth bulbs from Haarlem, ginger bread and other articles. 

If a prize is to be awarded to the pupil who has done the best 
month's work, a little tile from Delft, bearing a picture of the Dutch 
windmill and canal, may be given. 

To interest pupils in the commerce of Holland, ask them to make 
large boats of paper or card board. Then let each pupil select a 
country that trades with Holland. Paint the name of the chosen 
port on the vessel. It is now ready for its cargo. The boy who 
has chosen Borneo, for instance, will load his boat with little boxes 
that he has made of paper— pill and powder boxes are also good— 
label each with its contents, as "sago," "corTee, " "pepper ;" when 
possible, have the real thing in the box. After the vessel is loaded, 
it will be taken across the schoolroom to Rotterdam. Here it is un- 
loaded, then reloaded with Holland's products, it is sent back to 
Borneo. In the same way, other vessels flying flags of various na- 
tions, enter Holland's ports. 

Tell the story of the circumstance that led to the discovery of the 
telescope. Two small boys, sons of a spectacle maker of Middle- 
burg, chanced to look through two eye glasses. They noticed that 
objects seemed nearer them. They called their father's attention to 
it, and he investigated the matter, with the telescope as a result. 
Tell them the story of printing and Lawrence Coster. 

COSTUMES. 
For pupils who take part in the tableaux: 

DUTCH BOY. 

Dark jacket over a bright vest; knee pants; low shoes and blue 
woolen stockings ; broad soft hat with pointed crown. Dark or fair 
complexion. 



92 



teacher's supplement. 



DUTCH FISHER BOY. 

Wooden shoes; full breeches, coarse knitted stockings; striped 
blouse; red tie and cap. 

DUTCH PEASANT GIRL. 

Dress of blue flannel or cashmere, long skirt, short sleeved waist. 
Waist laced over a white shirt with short, full sleeves. A large 
white or colored kerchief may be worn about the neck, crossed over 
the breast and tucked in at the waist. A fancy white apron, or a 
large colored one ; red stockings and wooden shoes ; the hair parted 
and braided, and a peasant's cap of white muslin or gay silk upon 
the head. One head-dress isj something like a sun bonnet in shape, 
but narrow in front, and more flaring at the points. Fair faced, 
flaxen haired pupils to take the part of Dutch children. 



AN AFTERNOON IN HOLLAND. 
PROGRAMME. 



1. 


Introductiory Remarks by guide. 


2. 


Recitation, ' 'Holland. ' ' 


3. 


Dykes of Holland. 


4. 


Recitation or Reading, "The Leak in the Dyke. ?? 


5. 


Queer Holland. 


6. 


Recitation, "In Holland," by pupil in costume. 


7. 


Amsterdam. 


8. 


"The people of Holland." 


9. 


Song, "Let Him in Whom Old Dutch Blood Flows.' 


10. 


Dutch Homes and Home Life. 


11. 


Recitation, Eugene Field's ' 'Dutch Lullaby. ' ' 


12. 


Recitation, "Holland in Winter." 


13. 


Windmills. 


14. 


Recitation, "The Windmill" 


15. 


Song, "The Windmill." 


16. 


Haarlem, the Floral City. 


17. 


Canals. 


18. 


Leyden. 


19. 


The Hague. 


20. 


Delft. 


21. 


Storks. 



SCHOOL ENTERTAINMENT. 



93 



22. Story, "The Stork," by Hans Andersen. 

23. Song, "The Stork.'' 

24. Rotterdam. 

25. Recitation, "Rotterdam," 

26. On the Canal. * 

27. Country Life. 

28. The Fisheries of Holland. 

29. Tableau, "A Fisher Boy." 

30. Recitation, "The Village of Scheveningen. " 

31. Ancient Holland. 

32. Holland To-Day. 

33. Holland's Most Famous Artist, Rembrandt. 

34. Song, "G-od and the Fatherland." 

S0NG8. 

National Song, "Let Him in Whom Old Dutch Blood Flows." 
"God and the Fatherland," Netherlandish Folksong, in Academy 
Song Book. 

"Skaters' Song," Academy Song Book. 

"The Dutchman's Complaint," in the Song Echo. 

"The Stork," from Musical Poems. 

"Stork, Stork, Stately," from Rounds, Carols and Songs, or 
Book of Rhymes and Tunes. "The Mill," The Mocking Bird. " 
"The Old Mill," Fountain Song Book, No. 1. 

STORIES. (TO BE READ OR TOLD). 

"The Troublesome Burghers," and "Marlborough at Blenheim, a 
from Stories of Other Lands, by James Johonnot. 
"The Stork," Hans Christian Andersen. 

•'The Invention of Printing," and "Lawerence Coster," in Bald- 
win's Fifth Reader. 

Dutch Stories, Lippincott's Fifth Reader. 

"The Dykes of Holland," Johonnot's Natural History Reader. 
"The Relief of Leyden," by John L. Motley, in the Rise of the 
Dutch Republic. 

"The Stork," Johonnot's Natural History Reader. 
"Holland," Barnes' Fourth Reader or Excelsior Fourth. 
"Holland," Lippincott's Fifth Reader. 
"Holland Hollow," McGuffey's Third. 



NATIONAL HYMN OF HOLLAND. 



Andante. 




1. Let him in whom old Dutch blood flows, Un - 

2. We broth - ers, true un - to a man, Will 

3. Pre - serve, O God, the dear old ground Thou 





— r ' 


X H -] • • ? 


• 




1 1 — 

i 


_ r * -H 1 1 





taint - ed, free and strong, Whose heart for Prince and 
sing the old song yet; A - way with him who 

to our fa - thers gave; The land where we a 



:z2=qzz 
3 — •-. 



coun - try glows, Now join us in 
ev - er can His Prince or land 
era - die found, And where we'll find 



our song; 
for - get! 
a grave! 





F ? * ' 


— — 


• 


• 













t> 1 1 




— — 


— # 

— t- 

1 





Let him with us lift up his voice, And 
A hu - man heart glowed in him ne'er. We 

We call, O Lord. to Thee on high, As 




sing in pa - triot band, The song at which all 
turn from him our hand Who cal - lous hears the 
near death's door we stand, Oh, safe - ty, bless - ing, 




hearts re - joice, For Prince and Fa - ther - 

song and pray'r, For Prince and Fa - ther - 

is our cry. For Prince and Fa - ther - 




land, For Prince and Fa - ther - land! 

land, For Prince and Fa - ther - land! 

land, For Prince . and Fa - ther - land! 



GOD AND FATHERLAND. 



, Alia marcia 



Netherlandish Folksong. 




1 The man »glowwith pa - triot blood, Who feels no bondman's chain, In 

2 O God who hast Thy throne on high, In glorious inaj-es - ty, Be 
3' Pro-tect, O L,ord.our country bright; From ill and trouble save; Help 




ill I I 

work and war, in field and flood.Chants not in humble strain, But lifts his 
er to Thychildrennigh,WhattimetheycrytoThee;Andwhilethe 



nl to choose our rubers right; Long may our bau-ner wave; Till loud as 



Z UlU 1 u iv-i-o *■ l s ' O </ 




I 1 ' -r I ! I 

glad, triumphant voice, In cho-rus full and grand, And sings:"My soul shall 
praise of an-gel throngs Thou hear'st on ev -'ry hand, Give ear un - to our 
sing Thine angels' host Up-on the gold-en strand.Our songs shall ring from 



*»v~« — o - 



r— r— r 



fa 



fv-i — 1 — rs-R 

I I 



o^. iff \ n 



1 



e'er re - joice In God and Fa-ther-land, In God and Fa - ther-land. 
fervent songs For Thee and Fa-ther-land. For Thee and Fa - ther-land. 
coast to coast For God and Fa-ther-land. For God and Fa - ther-land. 




96 



teacher's supplement. 



POEMS. 

Holland, Oliver Goldsmith. 

Holland in Winter, J. Thompson. 

A Holland Fisherman's Song. 

Scheveningen Village, Charles Swain. 

Rotterdam, Thomas Hood. 

A Dutch Lullaby, Eugene Field. 

The Battle of Blenheim, Robert Southey. 

The Leak in the Dyke, Phoebe Cary. 

The Ride from Ghent to Aix, Robert Browning. 

The Windmill, Longfellow. 

A Dutch Picture, Longfellow. 

To the Stork, 

Recitation or Reading for a small pupil in Dutch costume. 

IN HOLLAND. 

Good morning to you, one and all, 
I've come to make a little call, 
And tell as you've been telling me, 
Of Holland and the Zuyder Zee. 

You've never seen a land like ours, 
Where earth is much too wet for flowers, 
And where to keep our feet quite dry, 
We wear wood shoes, both thick and high. 

Our land is very low, you see; 
Much lower than the Zuyder Zee, 
And so to keep the water out, 
We build big dykes all round about. 

We build them out of stone and sand, , 
They almost reach around our land, 
And they are big, — yes, even higher 
Than our biggest church's spire. 

And so our land is like a bowl, 
Outside of which the sea doth roll, 
And you will think the wet good, too, 
When I have told you all we do. 



POEMS. 



The wet goes into ponds and lakes, 
And this the whole of summer makes 
The very nicest place to play, — 
To swim, and fish and row all day. 
In winter too, it's very nice, 
For then the water's thick with ice; 
And so from early morn till late 
Both big and little love to skate. 
The wooden shoes I spoke about 
Are just for when we're going out. 
Indoors we use a lighter pair, 
Outdoors our wooden ones we wear. 

Our Christmas is a holy day, 
We keep it without work or play ; 
We give no gifts, but feast instead, 
And all the poor have nice white bread. 
December sixth, —three weeks before 
The Christmas, we like even more, 
For it is Santa Claus' day, 
The best of all, Dutch children say. 

Our Santa Claus is real, of course ; 
He comes behind a snow-white horse ; 
You hang up stockings Christmas eve, 
Our shoes beside the hearth we leave. 

We fill them full of oats and hay 
So, though he comes from far away, 
The white horse will his supper find, 
In its place gifts be left behind. 

For the good little girls and boys 
Sweetmeats and very nicest toys: 
For children who have not been good 
St. Nicholas always leaves a rod. 

We often sing a little song 
Hoping no rods to us belong, — 



1 



98 teacher's supplement. 

Then open flies the nearest door 
And candies shower upon the floor. 
We scramble quickly for each one, — 
Then look, — Saint Nicholas has gone! 
We leave our shoes, to bed we creep; 
He fills them while we're fast asleep. 

Saint Nicholas' Day, then, is the one 
When children have their gifts and fun. 
On Christmas in the church we pray; 
For us it is a holy day. 

Sarah OlipKant Coonley 

From "Christmas in Other Lands," published by A. Flanagan, 
price 25 cents. 

HOLLAND. 

To men of other minds my fancy flies, 
Embosomed in the deep where Holland lies, 
Methinks her patient sons before me stand 
Where the broad ocean leans against the land, 
And, sedulous to stop the coming tide, 
Lift the tall rampire's artificial pride. 
Onward, methinks, and diligently slow, 
The firm connected bulwark seems to grow; 
Spreads its long arms amidst the watery roar, 
Scoops out an empire and usurps the shore. 
While the pent ocean rising o'er the pile, 
Sees an amphibious world beneath him smile ; 
The slow canal, the yellow blossomed vale, 
The willow tufted bank, the gliding sail, 
The crowded mart, the cultivated plain, 
A new creation rescued from his reign. 

Oliver Goldsmith. 

HOLLAND IN WINTER. 

Where the Rhine 
Branched out in many a long canal extends, 
From ever} 7 province swarming void of care, 
Batavia rushes forth; and as they sweep, 



POEMS. 

On sounding skates, a thousand different ways, 
In circling poise, swift as the winds, along, 
The then gay land is maddened to all joy. 

James Thompson. 

ROTTERDAM. 

I gaze upon a city, 
A city new and strange, 
Down many a watery vista 
My fancy takes a range ; 
From side to side I saunter, 
And wonder where I am; 
And can you be in England, 
And I at Rotterdam? 

Before me lie dark waters 
In broad canals and deep, 
Whereon the silver moonbeams 
Sleep, restless in their sleep ; 
A sort of vulgar Venice 
Reminds me where I am ; 
Yes, yes, you are in England 
And I'm in Rotterdam. 

Tall houses with quaint gables, 
Where frequent windows shine, 
And quays that lead to bridges 
And trees in formal line, 
And masts of spicy vessels, 
From western Surinam, 
All tell me you're in England 
But I'm in Rotterdam. 
Those sailors, how outlandish 
The face and form of each! 

They deal in foreign- gestures 

And use a foreign speech; 

A tongue not learned in Isis, 

Or studied by the Cam 

Declares that you're in England 

And I'm at Rotterdam. 
L.ofC. 



99 



100 



teacher's supplement. 



And now across a market 
My doubtful way I trace! 
Where stands a solemn statue 
The G-enius of the place; 
And to the Great Erasmus 
I offer my salaam ; 
Who tells me you're in England, 
But I'm at Rotterdam. 

Thomas Hood. 

SHEVENINGEN VILLAGE. 

A startling sound by night was heard, 
From the Sheveningen coast; 
Like vultures in their clamorous flight, 
Or the trampling of a host. 

It broke the sleepers' heavy rest, 
With harsh and threatening cry ; 
Storm was upon the lonely sea! 
Storm on the midnight sky! 

The slumberers started up from sleep, 
Like spectres from their graves; 
Then —burst a hundred voices forth ; 
"The waves! — the waves! the waves!" 

The strong built dykes lay overthrown ; 
And on their deadly way 
Like lions came the mighty seas, 
Impatient for their prey! 

Like lions came the mighty seas, 
0, vision of despair! — 
Mid ruins of their falling homes, 
The blackness of the air. 

Fathers beheld the hastening doom, 
With stern, "delirious eye; 
Wildly they looked around for help— 
N ) help, alas, was nigh. 



POEMS. 



101 



Mothers stood trembling with their babes 
Uttering complaints in vain ; 
No arm but the Almighty arm, 
Might stem that dreadful main! 

No mercy, no relapse, no hope, — 
That night the tempest-tossed 
Saw their paternal homes engulfed, — 
Lost! 0, forever lost! 

Again, the blessed morning light 
In the far heavens shone ; 
But where the pleasant village stood, 
Swept the dark floods alone ! 

Charles Swain. 

THE WINDMILL. 

Behold! a giant am I! 

Aloft here in my tower 

With my granite jaws I devour, 

The maize, and the wheat and the rye, 

And grind them into flour. 

I look down over the farms ; 
In the fields of grain I see 
The harvest that is to be. 
And I fling to the air my arms, 
For I know it is all for me. 

I hear the sound of flails j 
Far off from the threshing floors 
In barns, with their open doors 
And the wind, the wind in my sails 
Louder and louder roars. 

I stand here in my place, 

With my foot on the rock below 

Whichever way it may blow 

I meet it face to face, 

As a brave man meets his foe. 



102 



teacher's supplement. 



And while we wrestle and strive 
My master, the miller stands, 
And feeds me with his hands; 
For he knows who makes him thrive 
Who makes him lord of lands. 

On Sundays I take my rest ; 
Church-going bells begin 
Their low, melodious din; 
I cross my arms on my breast, 
And all is peace within. 

Longfellow. 

ENTRANCE TO THE ZUYDER ZEE. 

The Dutch are going to drive the sea out of Holland. The sea 
has been a good friend to Holland, and has kept the little country 
many times from beiug invaded by the Germans. It has also driven 
out French and Spanish who have invaded. But now the world 
looks peacefully at the Dutch, and so the Dutch are going to dismiss 
the sea from their country. But they reserve unto themselves the 
eternal possibility of calling it back to their assistance whenever 
they need it. And when they call the sea will come. 

The ZuyderZee has pushed its way clear into the middle of Hol- 
land, and is at present occupying 2,500,000 acres of land that would 
be\ good if it were dry. A good part of it is soon to he dried and 
turned into homesteads for farmers. Some of those who are going 
to take up homesteads in the new land are those Boers who are 
neither killed, nor captured, not reconciled by the British. That 
is, if the English win. 

Under ( order of the State General, and with approval of the 
Queen, the Dutch engineers are going to start a broad causeway 
from North Holland to Friesland, straight across the Zuyder Zee. A 
railroad will run from shore to shore, on the top of this huge dam. 

The driving out of the sea will cost in all about $42,000,000. The 
work will be completed in about twenty years. 

It will reach first from the north Holland shore to the little Island 
of Wieringen, and thence to the opposite Friesian mainland at 
Priaam. Its length is thus about twenty-five miles. 



SELECTIONS. 



103 



This huge dam will have two sluice ways into the sea, and it is by 
means of these sluices that four large tracts of land in that part of 
the Zuyder, which is shut in on three sides by the land, and on the 
fourth by the dam, if to be drained. When the tide in the outer se a 
is going out, the sluices will be opened and the water within will flow 
out. But when the tide in the outer sea begins to rise, the sluices 
will be closed, and the water, which has flowed, will not be allowed 
to return. In this way the water will be drained off four extensive 
areas now covered with shallow water, two being in the south and 
two in the west. 

A series of dykes will be built in connection with the work. Of 
the $42,000,000 which the entire work is expected to cost, $24, 000,- 
000 will be spent on the dykes and causeway, and $16,000,000 for 
drainage works. — Sel. 



MAY 1 9 Rec'd Kj 



REFERENCE BOOKS. 

Holland, De Aniicis. 

Picturesque Holland, Harvard. 

Through Holland, Wood. 

Land of Dykes and Windmills, by Bird, 

Sketching Rambles in Holland, Boughton. 

Holland, Hare. 

A Farmer's Vacation, Waring. 
Brave Little Holland. 
Holland and Scandinavia, Hare. 
Hans Brinker, M. M. Dodge. 

PERRY PICTURES FOR HOLLAND. 



1630. The University, Leyden. 

1631. Canal and Houses. 

1632. Prairie and Windmils. 

1633. Windmill. 

3325. Canal in Holland. 

3007. Thorwaldsen. 

711. The Singing Boy, Rembrandt. 

712. Man Sharpening His Pen. 
716. Portrait of an Old Woman. 

718. The Night Watch. 

719. The Mill. 

720. Rembrandt's Mother. 



721. Elizabeth Bas. 

722. Saslda. 

723. The Anatomy Lesson. 

726. The Ship Builder and His 
Wife. 

731. The Apple Parer, by Terburg. 
738 Cattle, by Paul Potter. 
739. The Bull. 
741. The Prairie. 

746. Landscape, by Van Der Velde. 

747. Dutch Ships of War. 

751. Landscape,theMill,Habbema. 



STODDARD PICTURES. 

Beach of Scheveningen. 
Dutch Windmills. 
Rotterdam, Holland. 



JUN 



31924 



I 



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